7)EV07JONAL  'READINGS 
•TOI{A  TEAR^ 


W-L-WATICINSON-  K 


tihvaxy  of  t:he  trheolojvcal  ^emmarjp 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

The  Estate  of 
Harold  McAfee  Robinson,  D.D. 


BV  4811  .W37 

Watkinson,  W.  L.  1838-1925. 

The  gates  of  dawn 


L^* 


n 


THE    GATES    OF    DAWN 


W.   L.  WATKINSON,  P.P. 

The  Gates  of  Dawn 

Devotional  Readings  for  a  Year. . .  net,  $1.25 

Life's  Unexpected  Issues 

and  other  Papers  on   Character  and 
I    Conduct net,  $1.00 

The  Fatal  Barter 

and  other  Sermons net,  $1.00 

The  Supreme  Conquest 

and  other  Sermons  Preached  in  Amer- 
ica   net,  $1.00 

The  Duty  of  Imperial  Thinking 
and  other  Essays  on  Themes   Worth 
While net,  $1.00 

The  Bane  and  the  Antidote 

and  other  Sermons net,  $1.00 

Lessons  of  Prosperity 

and    other    Addresses    on     Personal 
Conduct net,    500. 

Mistaken  Signs 

and    other     Addresses    on    Christian 
Experience net,     50c. 

Noon  Day  Addresses 

on  Themes  Affecting  Life net,     50c. 

Inspiration  in  Common  Life 

net,     3SC. 

INTERNATIONAL     LEADERS'     LIBRARY 

Frugality  in  the  Spiritual  Life 

and  other  Themes  for  Meditation,   net,     50c. 

The  Blind  Spot 

and  other  Sermons net,     soc. 

Studies  in  Christian  Character 

net,    50C. 

Studies  in  Life  and  Experience 

net,    50C. 


THE  ^^5:2^LS?^ 

GATES  OF  DAWNT 

devotional  IReaMnge  for  a  l?ear 


BY 

W.   L.  WATKINSON,   D.Do 


WITH  A  SHORT  SERIES  OF  PRAYERS 

BY  THE 

Rev.  LAUCHLAN  MACLEAN  WATT,  M.A.,  B.D. 


New  York         Chicago        Toronto 

Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

London    and    Edinburgh 


January  1 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xxvii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Examine  me,  0  Lord,  and  prove  me;   try  my  reins  and  my 
heart." — Ps.  xxvi.  2 

IT  is  indeed  well  on  the  first  day  of  the  New  Year 
thus  to  submit  our  heart  to  the  Divine  criticism. 
We  do  not  know  where  the  weak  spot  may  be. 

Somewhere  in  London  there  is  a  museum  of  broken 
materials  used  in  engineering  work.  This  organised 
testing  laboratory  is  to  examine  materials  which  have 
failed,  and  by  practical  tests  to  show  why  they  failed. 
The  museum  contains  hundreds  of  broken  pieces  of 
steel,  iron,  brass,  wood,  stone,  and  cement,  and  the 
reason  for  their  failure  is  revealed.  The  Psalmist 
daringly,  trustingly,  brings  his  reason  and  heart  into 
the  laboratory  of  God,  and  demands  that  any  secret 
flaw  therein  shall  be  detected  and  exposed. 

The  metallurgist  cannot  always  determine  the 
cause  of  failure ;  again  and  again  he  is  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  inscrutable;  but  the  Divine  heart- 
searcher  infallibly  penetrates  to  the  hidden  weakness, 
the  blind  spot,  the  diseased  fibre. 

Let  us,  with  the  Psalmist,  solicit  "the  eyes  of 
glory,"  which  at  once  reveal  and  cleanse. 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  2 

Scripture  Reading— Phil.  ii.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted  A/w?."— Phil.  ii.  9 

THIS  is  the  object  on  which  we  must  fix  our 
eye.  The  descent  of  our  Lord  into  the  sphere 
of  time  and  sense  is  a  solemn  fact  to  be  celebrated 
with  wonder  and  gratitude,  but  His  exaltation  is 
cause  of  endless  exultation  to  all  His  ransomed 
worshippers.  The  crown  of  thorns  glows  into  gold 
and  multiplies  into  diadems  ;  the  marred  face  makes 
the  sun  dim ;  the  pierced  hand  grasps  the  universal 
sceptre ;  the  cross  towers  and  expands  into  a  throne 
based  on  the  jasper  and  girdled  by  the  rainbow. 

Do  we  think  enough,  anything  like  enough,  of 
the  royalty  of  our  Master  ?  In  all  the  days  when  we 
have  the  sense  of  impotence  and  struggle,  let  us 
remember  whose  we  are  and  whom  we  serve.  In 
every  season  of  need  and  solitude  let  us  remind  our- 
selves that  our  Lord  was  parted  from  His  disciples 
whilst  blessing  them,  and  although  carried  up  into 
heaven,  He  has  never  ceased  that  blessing. 

And  let  us  expect  His  coming  again  in  like  manner. 
As  Andrew  Bonar  writes:  "How  seldom  the  ex- 
pression '  going  to  heaven '  is  used  in  the  Bible ! 
It  is  rather  going  to  be  '  with  the  Lord,'  as  if  the 
Lord  wanted  to  keep  our  eye  on  Himself  as  the 
heart  and  soul  of  heaven." 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  3 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xvi. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Thou  wilt  shew  me  the  path  of  life;  in  Thy  presence  is 
fulness  of  Joy." — Ps.  xvi.  ii 

THE  "path  of  life"  may  be  rough,  dark,  steep, 
or  long;  but,  seeing  that  it  is  the  path  of 
life,  nothing  else  is  of  serious  concern.  If  only  I  am 
on  the  right  path,  all  the  rest  matters  little.  There 
is  a  path  that  seemeth  right,  but  the  end  thereof  are 
the  ways  of  death.  What  shall  I  be  profited  if  I 
follow  this  path,  even  if  I  have  roses  and  music  all 
the  way  ? 

"  Thou  wilt  shew  me."  God  is  the  safe  pathfinder. 
Left  to  ourselves,  we  mistake  at  every  step ;  directed 
by  others,  we  are  beguiled  into  false  ways — we  are 
lured  into  by-paths  which  mock,  we  plunge  into  a 
wilderness  of  briers.  How  blest  is  a  teachable  and 
obedient  disposition !  "  I  will  bless  the  Lord,  who 
hath  given  me  counsel." 

"  In  Thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy."  Whatever 
the  path  may  be,  it  is  forgotten  in  the  charm  of  the 
Guide.  In  the  midst  of  the  roughest  sea  I  am  in 
port  with  the  Pilot  of  Galilee.  "  At  thy  right  hand 
are  pleasures  for  evermore."  The  path,  royal;  the 
pathfinder,  infallible  j  the  prize,  sublime  and  sure. 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  4 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  Iv.  6-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"There  is  forgiveness  with  Thee,  that  Thou  may  est  be  feared." 
Ps,  cxxx.  4 


H 


E  will  abundantly  pardon,"     It  is  strengthen- 


the  Divine  compassion  and  clemency.  Nothing  less 
than  a  sense  of  infinite  mercy  and  grace  can  meet 
the  case  of  the  true  penitent,  with  his  sense  of  the 
infinity  of  sin. 

Whenever  grace  is  shown  by  society  to  an  offender, 
it  is  finely  calculated  and  qualified.  Says  the  master: 
"  I  condone  the  fault  this  time,  but  it  will  not  again 
be  overlooked."  Grudgingly  one  friend  complains  of 
another,  "  I  forgive,  but  I  do  not  forget."  The 
magistrate  inclining  to  forbearance,  "  The  prisoner 
is  discharged,  but  must  come  up  for  judgment  when 
called  upon."  The  prison  authorities  open  the  gates, 
but  the  liberated  convict  is  a  "  ticket-of-leave "  man, 
who  must  periodically  report  himself.  When  the 
capital  sentence  is  stayed,  the  reprieved  one  is 
"  detained  at  the  King's  pleasure."  The  lifted  thunder 
still  rumbles  and  threatens. 

How  pure  and  absolute  the  mercy  of  God !  He 
forgives  all,  hopes  for  all.  How  comforting  is  this 
in  the  light  of  the  guilty  past !  And  what  an  obliga- 
tion it  imposes  upon  us  for  the  future !  How  can  we 
sin  against  such  magnanimity  ? 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  5 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  x.  1-15 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Freely  ye  have  receiued,  freely  give." — Matt.  x.  8 

NOTHING  is  of  our  creation,  and  so  we  have 
no  property.  How  free  are  all  the  great 
blessings  of  nature  —  the  air,  rain,  sunlight,  the 
precious  things  of  the  garden,  vineyard,  and  field ! 
And  yet  selfish  men  begrudge  us  these  things,  and 
withhold  them  when  they  have  opportunity. 

Recently  a  writer  told  us  that  one  day  he  climbed 
a  steep  path  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lynmouth,  to 
enjoy  a  view  from  the  top.  There,  however,  he 
found  a  board  bearing  the  inscription  in  large  letters : 
"  This  Outlook  is  Private."  Ah  !  there  are  men  who 
would  make  a  private  path  of  the  Milky  Way,  claim 
all  rights  in  the  rainbow,  and  proclaim  the  ocean 
their  heirloom. 

If  Nature  is  thus  free,  how  much  more  the  higher 
gifts  which  we  have  in  Christ !  All  the  riches  of  the 
Gospel  are  freely  given  of  God.  Will  any  one  dare 
to  inscribe  on  the  crest  of  Calvary,  "  This  Outlook  is 
Private  "  ?  Every  gift  of  life  is  a  free  gift,  the  "  un- 
speakable "  gift  most  01  all. 

"  Freely  give."  Ask  for  nothing  in  return — no 
renown,  no  appreciation,  no  gratitude.  Let  me  be 
content  to  bless,  finding  my  whole  reward  in  the 
joy  of  blessing. 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  6 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  xxxv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Say  to  them  that  are  of  a  fearful  heart,  Be  strong,  fear  not." 
— Isa.  xxxv,  4 

STRENGTH  for  every  duty  and  trial  is  ours  in 
Christ.  One  of  the  greatest  of  chemical 
discoverers,  M.  Berthelot,  pressed  on  the  attention 
of  scientists  the  question  of  the  possibility  of  tapping 
the  central  heat  of  the  earth  and  making  use  of  it 
as  a  perennial  source  of  energy.  If  this  should  ever 
come  to  pass  there  will  be  power  enough  for  all 
possible  purposes.  Power  to  drive  unlimited  en- 
ginery, to  illuminate  the  mightiest  cities,  to  remove 
mountains. 

But  revelation  shows  a  far  grander  thing — it  shows 
how  the  central  blue  has  been  tapped,  and  how  the 
fulness  of  the  heavenly  power  has  become  available 
for  the  moral  uses  of  man.  The  Old  Testament 
caught  sight  of  this  great  truth ;  the  New  Testament 
shows  how  it  has  been  fully  realised  in  the  gift  of 
Pentecost. 

Let  me  not  then  faint.  With  the  power  of  Christ 
perfected  in  my  weakness,  I  am  equal  to  every 
temptation,  competent  for  every  duty,  equipped  for 
every  struggle,  the  master  of  every  fear. 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  7 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xxi.  5-15 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  will  glue  you  a  mouth  and  wisdom,  which  all  your  ad 
versan'es  shall  not  be  able  to  gainsay  nor  resist" — Luke  xxi.  15 

FROM  time  to  time  one  might  think  that  the  world 
was  going  to  pieces  ;  and  it  often  seems  as  if  the 
Church  was  on  the  verge  of  destruction,  with  back- 
slidings,  heresies,  schisms,  infidehties,  and  persecutions. 
Cataclysms  and  cyclones  give  the  hue  of  tragedy  to 
all  history. 

But,  whatever  is  destroyed,  something  better  is 
substituted.  "  The  end  is  not  immediately,"  perhaps, 
but  it  is  sure.  The  hurricanes  of  history  have  purified 
the  world,  and  the  rough  purification  proceeds.  The 
Church  from  time  to  time  is  dissolved,  only  to  give 
place  to  a  worthier.  "The  Temple  adorned  with 
goodly  stones  and  offerings  "  perished,  to  be  succeeded 
by  the  Christian  Church ;  and  defective  Christian 
societies  are  yet  being  dissolved  to  secure  a  worthier 
representation. 

Through  the  ages  of  conflict  and  sorrow  Christ 
will  give  His  people  patience ;  He  will  inspire  with 
wisdom  and  strength ;  He  will  keep  alive  their  courage 
and  hope. 

"  Unmoved  above  the  storm  they  lie. 
They  lodge  in  Jesu's  breast," 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  8 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  iv.  32;  v.  11 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"And  the  multitude  of  them  that  believed  were  of  one  heart 
and  of  one  soul," — Acts  iv.  32 

TRUE  brotherhood  is  realised  in  the  power  oi 
the  Holy  Ghost.  The  multitudes  of  them 
that  believed  were  of  one  heart  and  one  soul,  because 
of  the  spiritual  grace  that  rested  on  them.  When 
the  tide  is  low  the  coast  is  a  scene  of  agitation ;  a 
thousand  savage  splinters  of  rock  jut  out,  and  the 
shore  is  girdled  with  angry  foam.  But  when  ocean's 
tide,  rolling  in  fullest  pride,  returns,  the  disturbing 
debris  is  buried  in  the  depths  and  the  sea  becomes 
smooth  as  glass.  So  the  divisive  things  of  the  world 
are  obliterated  in  a  great  tide  of  heavenly  purity, 
love,  and  power. 

An  old  writer  says :  "  God  sometimes  writes  in 
shorthand."  And  in  this  union  of  hearts  and  com- 
munity of  goods  in  the  primitive  Church  we  may 
see,  writ  brief  and  small,  what  will  come  to  pass 
on  a  world-wide  scale  when  all  men  believe  in  Christ. 

But  let  me  observe  the  order.  Too  many  dream 
of  a  rich  and  contented  world,  whilst  ignoring  the 
moral  conditions  of  such  a  millennial  state.  This 
glorious  flower  can  only  grow  from  a  pure  spiritual 
root ;  otherwise,  the  blossom  will  be  dust. 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  9 

Scripture  Reading — Prov.  xii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  wicked  is  snared  by  the  transgression  of  his  lips."— Trov, 
xii.  13 

WE  ought  to  be  on  our  guard  against  the  fatal 
power  of  words.  We  often  count  words  as 
light  as  air,  and  yet  how  tremendous  their  significance  ! 
By  our  words  we  are  justified,  by  our  words  we  are 
condemned. 

"  Thou  lovest  all  devouring  words,  O  thou  deceitful 
tongue."  Have  I  ever  thought  of  the  destructive 
influence  of  the  speeches  which  fall  so  glibly  from  my 
lips  ?  Bitter  words,  unkind  words,  mischievous 
words,  words  of  spitefulness,  deceit,  and  falsehood, 
are  "  devouring  words,"  "  words  of  swallowing  up." 

As  a  French  writer  justly  observes  :  "  Insults,  harsh 
words,  threatening  utterances  kill  morally  those  who 
give  expression  to  them."  He  who  thinks  to  deceive 
another  is  himself  deceived  ;  he  who  slanders  another 
wrongs  his  own  soul;  he  who  wounds  another  by 
harsh  words  commits  moral  suicide. 

"  Keep,  O  Lord,  the  door  of  my  lips."  Other 
doors  are  to  keep  my  enemies  outside ;  this  door  is 
to  save  me  from  being  mine  own  enemy." 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWxN 


January  10 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  cxxxix.  1-12 

Thought  for  the  Day 

'*  There  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue;  but  lo,  0  Lord,  Thou  hnowest 
it  altogether." — Ps.  cxxxix.  4 

''  ''  I  ^HERE  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue ;  but  lo,  O 
J^  Lord,  Thou  knowest  it  altogether."  We  feel 
it  must  be  so.  He  must  know  every  atom  of  the 
globe,  every  vibration  of  the  air,  every  flake  of  the 
snow ;  and,  by  virtue  of  His  omniscience  and  omni- 
presence. He  must  know  the  finest  film  of  character, 
the  lightest  word  we  breathe.  A  recent  aeronaut  tells 
us  that  when  far  up  in  the  heavens  he  could  hear  the 
whispering  of  the  leaves  as  they  were  stirred  by  the 
wind.  Our  faintest  word  reaches  higher  still,  and  is 
judged  above  the  sky. 

How  great  my  task  to  be  offenceless  in  word  !  An 
old  writer  tells  of  an  illiterate  saint  who  came  to 
someone  to  be  taught  a  psalm.  Having  learnt  the 
single  verse,  "  I  said  I  will  take  heed  to  my  ways, 
that  I  offend  not  with  my  tongue,"  he  went  away, 
saying  that  was  enough  if  it  were  practically  acquired. 
When  asked  six  months  and  again  many  years  after 
why  he  did  not  come  to  learn  another  verse,  he 
answered  that  he  had  never  been  able  truly  to  master 
this.  Rejoice !  The  things  impossible  with  men  are 
possible  with  God. 


10 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  11 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  v.  29-42 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"^Ne  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men." — Acts.  v.  29 

THE  counsel  of  Gamaliel  is  a  fine  specimen  of 
the  reasoning  of  the  worldly  wise,  the  logic  of 
the  politic.  On  the  face  of  it  it  is  plausible  in  the 
extreme,  but  duly  examined  it  is  proved  tempor- 
ising and  cowardly.  We  do  not  wait  to  see  the  issue 
of  a  thing  before  we  form  an  opinion  of  it.  Usually 
we  have  to  decide  and  act  at  once.  Gamaliel's 
reasoning  was  the  sophistry  by  which  cowardice  is 
made  to  counterfeit  statesmanship. 

How  different  the  temper  of  the  Apostles  !  "  We 
ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men."  No  waiting  to 
see  how  the  thing  turns  out.  No  policy  here,  only 
obedience  to  what  they  knew  to  be  the  will  of  the 
Lord.  Gamaliel  had  a  reed  for  a  spine ;  the  Apostles 
belonged  to  the  true  backbone  family. 

Let  me  make  life  clear  and  simple  by  first  obtain- 
ing the  knowledge  of  God's  will,  and  then  securing 
the  daily  strength  by  which  I  shall  render  prompt 
obedience.  It  is  well  sometimes  to  have  "the  courage 
of  our  opinions,"  but  it  is  better  to  have  the  courage 
of  our  convictions,  wise,  firm,  tender. 


II 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  12 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  x.  16-22 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  hill  the 
soul." — Matt.  x.  28 

"  T  T  shall  be  given  you  in  that  hour."  We  are  not 
J_  subjected  to  the  same  kind  of  trial  as  were  the 
first  disciples.  We  are  not  delivered  up  to  councils, 
not  scourged  in  synagogues,  not  brought  before 
governors  and  kings,  but  in  these  modern  days  for 
the  sake  of  Christ  His  followers  endure  great  tribula- 
tion. In  various  ways  our  work,  bread,  fortune, 
health,  promotion,  family,  yea,  life  itself,  is  put  in 
jeopardy  by  our  faithfulness. 

Life  has  a  place  for  compromise,  but  when  duty 
becomes  clear  there  must  be  no  tampering  with  it. 
The  wet  hand  may  be  plunged  with  impunity  into 
metal  if  it  is  only  white  hot,  and  we  are  held  harmless 
as  we  directly  brave  unrighteous  opposition  in  its 
extreme  wrath.  Conciliation  is  sometimes  admirable, 
but  we  may  be  stung  because  we  fail  to  grasp  our 
nettle.  As  R.  L.  Stevenson  puts  it :  "  No  man  is  of 
any  use  until  he  has  dared  everything." 

Our  Master  is  with  us.  "  The  goldsmith  is  never 
far  away  when  the  gold  is  in  the  fire."  Let  me  then 
be  calm  and  confident.  In  "the  same  night,"  in  "the 
same  day,"  in  "the  same  hour,"  I  shall  find  Him 
strong  to  deliver  and  good  to  redeem. 


12 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  13 

Scripture  Reading— i  Peter  iii.  8-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"If  ye  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake,  happy  are  ye."—i  Peter 
iii.  14 

THE  attitude  in  which  we  should  deal  with  trial 
and  hostility  is  here  described.  Compassionate, 
loving  as  brethren,  tender-hearted,  humble-minded, 
returning  blessing  for  reviling — it  is  thus  we  should 
meet  criticism,  injustice,  impatience,  persecution. 
There  is  a  kind  of  iron  that  is  known  as  "  passive 
iron " — such  is  the  true  saint,  yielding  and  gentle 
in  spirit  whilst  firm  as  heaven's  pillars. 

Describing  the  force  of  the  waves  which  beat  on 
the  Eddystone  lighthouse,  a  writer  goes  on  to  say, 
"  But  without  a  quiver  the  lighthouse  supports  these 
terrible  attacks.  Yet  it  bends  toward  them  as  if 
to  render  homage  to  the  power  of  its  adversaries. 
The  summit  of  the  tower  describes  an  arc  of  more 
than  a  yard  in  extent.  For  the  rest,  this  very 
pliancy  may  be  regarded  as  a  pledge  of  durability. 
Towers  built  after  this  fashion  are,  in  fact,  reeds 
of  stone  which  bend  before  the  wind ;  but,  like  the 
reeds,  they  raise  their  heads  again  as  soon  as  the 
hurricane  is  past."  Let  me  then  meet  the  storms 
of  life  with  the  fixedness  and  plasticity  with  which 
the  lighthouse  overcomes  the  wild  tempest. 


13 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  14 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  vi.  1-15 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  that  is  greatest  among  you  shall  be  your  servant."^ 
Matt,  xxiii.  11 

HOW  forcibly  does  this  teach  the  need  of  the 
highest  character  and  gifts  for  the  right 
discharge  of  Hfe's  lowHest  duties !  The  Apostles 
could  not  at  the  same  time  minister  in  two  spheres 
successfully;  they  therefore  confined  themselves  to 
their  spiritual  work:  yet  the  ministry  of  tables  was 
in  no  wise  depreciated  by  their  action.  They  chose 
men  of  good  report,  full  of  faith,  wisdom,  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

The  commonest  duties  of  life  demand  the  highest 
qualities,  and,  indeed,  they  can  be  fulfilled  perfectly- 
only  with  the  soul  at  its  best.  Some  gardeners,  it 
is  said,  can  grow  orchids  better  than  wallflowers  ; 
and  society  abounds  in  dilettante  people  who  court 
great  places  and  things,  despising  homelier  posts 
and  callings. 

When  princes  like  Stephen  were  thus  made  stewards 
of  carnal  things,  let  me  not  forget  the  sovereign  and 
sacramental  character  of  the  secular,  or  that  the 
utmost  saintliness  and  wisdom  are  necessary  for  the 
ordinary  routine  life. 


14 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  15 

Scripture  Reading — Heb.  xi.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  loohed  for  a  city  which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder 
and  maker  is  God." — Heb.  xi.  lo 

WE  are  strangers  and  pilgrinms, as  all  our  fathers 
were;  and  we,  with  them,  look  for  a  city 
which  hath  foundations  whose  builder  and  architect 
is  God. 

I  do  well  to  lay  to  heart  the  fugitiveness  of  human 
life,  and  the  passing  of  all  the  things  of  wealth, 
beauty,  and  joy  in  which  the  natural  man  delights. 
Delitzsch  renders  Isa.  xxxviii.  12,  "Mine  home  is 
broken  up,  and  is  removed  from  me  as  a  shepherd's 
tent."  How  soon  must  I  thus  bemoan  myself!  It 
is  a  fact,  a  fact  it  is  folly  to  hide  or  forget. 

Yet  this  thought  is  not  to  embitter  the  present 
life,  only  to  enlarge  and  enrich  it  by  causing  me  to 
realise  eternal  ideas. 

Three  weeks  before  his  death  Corot  exclaimed, 
"  You  have  no  idea  of  the  things  I  could  paint  now. 
I  see  what  I  have  never  seen  before.  Ah !  if  I  could 
show  you  these  immense  horizons." 

Let  me'  live  in  full  sight  of  these  "immense 
horizons " ;  so  shall  this  passing  life  be  greatly 
inspired,  and  clothed  with  strength  and  grandeur. 


15 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  16 

Scripture  Reading— Heb.  xil.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  U3  run  with  patience  tlie  race  that  is  set  before  us," — 
Heb.  xii.  i 

THE  impatience  which  has  its  root  in  unbelief 
was  shown  by  Israel  at  every  period  of  its 
history.  It  took  centuries  for  the  working  out  of 
God's  great  design  in  His  people,  and  again  and 
again  they  became  impatient,  and  in  despair  did 
desperate  things. 

How  much  room  there  is  for  patience,  both  in 
regard  to  things  personal  and  things  of  the  Church ! 
And  what  do  we  gain  by  discontent  and  fretfulness  ? 
A  Malabar  proverb  gives  an  excellent  hint,  "  By 
running  in  the  boat,  do  we  come  to  land  ?  " 

No  worry  on  our  part  hastens  things.  Neither 
our  own  canoe,  nor  the  ark  of  Christ's  Church,  go 
a  whit  faster  for  our  feverish  oscillations  between 
stem  and  stern.  Far  better  to  bend  the  oar,  to  hoist 
the  sail,  and  sweetly  trust  the  Pilot. 

"  Ye  have  heard  of  the  patience  of  Job,  and  have 
seen  the  end  of  the  Lord."  The  "  end  of  the  Lord  "  ! 
Our  God  is  great  in  His  endings,  and  in  His  faith- 
fulness round  about  Him.  To  patient  faith  the  prize 
is  sure. 


i6 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  17 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  Ixxxix.  7-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  is  the  people  that  hnovu  the  joyful  sound." — 
Ps.  Ixxxix.  15 

THE  fear  of  God  brings  joy  to  the  individual, 
and  peace  to  the  commonwealth.  "  Blessed 
are  the  people  to  whom  the  solemn  sounding  of 
trumpets  is  a  familiar  sound."  One  might  fancy- 
reading  of  "cornet,  flute,  harp,  sackbut,  psaltery, 
dulcimer,  and  all  kinds  of  music,"  that  all  the 
instruments  of  jubilation  belonged  to  Babylon ;  but 
Jerusalem  also  was  rich  in  trumpets,  psalteries,  and 
harps,  which  accompanied  purer  festivals  and  dis- 
coursed nobler  music. 

Felicity  of  spirit  is  the  prerogative  of  the  saints, 
peace  and  joy  are  ours  beyond  all  worldly  dreaming. 
Says  R.  L.  Stevenson :  "  I  do  not  call  that  by  the 
name  of  religion  which  fills  a  man  with  bile." 

There  is  nothing  in  daily  discipleship  with  Christ 
calculated  to  create  bile ;  and  any  fretfulness,  bitter- 
ness, or  melancholy  on  our  part  wonderfully  discredits 
our  religion. 

The  colouring  of  our  moods  depends  largely  upon 
ourselves.  Whether  we  walk  on  the  sunny  or  the 
sunless  side  of  the  street  is  much  a  matter  of  choice. 


17 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  18 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  Hi.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  see  the  saluation  of  our  God." 
— Isa.  lii.  lo 

WHEREVER  the  messengers  of  Christ  go, 
teaching  His  holy  Word  and  working  in 
His  loving  spirit,  flowers  spring  in  their  footsteps. 
The  advent  of  the  adventurer  is  not  always  a 
blessing  to  the  native.  Not  that  of  the  soldier,  not 
that  of  the  trader,  but  the  feet  of  the  missionary  are 
always  beautiful,  bearing  the  message  of  peace  and 
salvation. 

How  gloriously  is  this  prophecy  fulfilled  before 
our  eyes  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles !  "  There  was 
great  joy  in  that  city"  —  joy  in  every  city  that 
received  the  anointed  messengers. 

Ever  since  that  period  the  missionary  has  waved 
wide  the  torch,  scattering  the  darkness ;  he  has  sown 
the  germs  of  life,  causing  the  wilderness  to  blossom. 

The  grandest  thing  in  the  history  of  the  world  is 
Christ's  effort  to  save  the  world.  The  richest  solace 
of  good  men  is  the  thought  of  the  unresting  growth 
of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness  and  peace. 

This  shall  be  a  pure,  beautiful,  happy  world  yet, 
Am  I  to  share  in  the  glory  of  helping  to  make  it 
so?     Let  me  think,  give,  work,  prayl 


i8 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  19 

Scripture  Reading— i  Cor.  \.  18-31 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound 
the  things  which  are  mighty." — i  Cor.  i.  27 

WE  must  not  be  faint-hearted  because  we  are 
consciously  poor  instruments.  Something 
certainly  depends  upon  an  instrument,  but,  after  all, 
the  main  question  is  the  mastery  of  him  who  uses 
it.  It  would  be  a  poor  fiddle  indeed  that  Paganini 
could  not  bring  music  out  of;  a  poor  pencil  with 
which  Raphael  could  not  create  a  masterpiece;  and 
the  power  of  the  Spirit  behind  the  least  gifted  can 
work  to  glorious  issues. 

A  science  writer  observes :  "  Nature  and  Art 
abound  with  cases  where  a  little  energy,  rightly 
directed,  controls  energy  infinitely  greater  in  quantity. 
Often  in  a  chemical  compound  the  poise  of  attrac- 
tion is  so  delicate  that  it  may  be  disturbed  by  a 
breath,  or  by  a  note  from  a  fiddle,  and  the  substance 
explodes." 

It  is  far  more  wonderful  what  a  little  talent  or 
energy  may  accomplish  in  the  moral  world ;  there 
a  note  of  warning,  a  breath  of  prayer,  a  shake  of 
the  hand  may  bring  about  the  mightiest  change  in 
men's  hearts  and  lives. 

Let  me  put  myself  wholly  at  God's  service,  what- 
ever I  may  be;  greatness  is  not  called  for,  but 
"meetness"  for  the  Master's  use. 


19 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  20 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  viii.  26-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God." — Acts  viii.  37 


P 


ON  BERING  the  great  blessing  of  salvation  which 
came  to  this  officer,  we  are  first  arrested  by  the 
fact  of  his  readiness  for  the  blessing.  He  "  had  come 
to  Jerusalem  for  to  worship ;  and  he  was  returning 
and  sitting  in  his  chariot,  and  was  reading  the  prophet 
Isaiah."  Attention,  predisposition,  sympathy,  expec- 
tation. All  high  blessing  is  ours  as  we  await  it  in  a 
certain  state  of  preparedness,  ripeness,  susceptibility, 
and  desire. 

We  often  hear  of  men  lighting  accidentally  on 
great  discoveries.  Newton  luckily  observed  the  falling 
apple,  and  the  grand  truth  of  gravitation  flashed  upon 
him ;  so  we  are  assured  the  grandest  discoveries  and 
inventions  are  usually  the  consequence  of  the  veriest 
accident.  But  it  will  always  be  found  that  it  was  by  a 
prepared,  pondering,  sympathetic  mind  that  the  great 
truth  was  discovered,  seized,  proclaimed.  Others  can- 
not see,  hear,  or  understand. 

Let  my  mind  be  intent  on  spiritual  things,  my 
heart  open  and  longing,  my  will  inclined  to  obedience. 
Let  my  soul  be  sensitive  as  the  photographic  plate  is 
to  the  unseen  stars ;  wistful  as  the  eye  that  watches 
for  the  morning ;  eager  and  acquisitive  as  the  flower 
to  the  pollen. 


20 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  21 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  liii. ;  Acts  viii.  32-35 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. " — Isa.  liii.  6 

WHEN  the  New  Testament  thus  interprets  the 
Old,  we  may  be  very  certain  about  the 
real  signification. 

That  we  cannot  understand  all  that  is  implied  in 
Christ  suffering  in  our  stead,  dying  for  our  sins, 
need  not  blind  us  to  the  precious  fact.  Thousands 
of  thinking  men  to-day  believe  in  the  doctrine  of 
evolution,  that  all  the  higher  forms  of  life  were 
evolved  from  lower  forms,  but  they  confess  them- 
selves unable  to  understand  how  Nature  proceeds 
in  her  work  of  development. 

I  am  not  able  to  give  an  account  to  myself  of 
the  way  in  which  Christ's  death  becomes  the  basis 
of  my  salvation ;  but  I  see  the  law  of  vicariousness 
operative  everywhere,  and  why  should  I  not  believe 
in  Calvary  as  its  supreme  illustration?  It  satisfies 
my  conscience ;  it  wins  my  heart ;  it  becomes  a 
sublime  law  for  my  own  life  that  I  shall  suffer  for 
others. 

Living  the  vicarious  life,  I  shall  perhaps  the  better 
understand  the  doctrine  of  vicariousness,  the  central 
doctrine  of  the  New  Testament. 


21 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  22 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  cxix.  9-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Open  Thou  mine  eyes  that  /  may  behold  wondrous  things  out 
of  thy  law." — Ps.  cxix.  18 

REALLY,  so  far  as  spiritual  vision  is  concerned, 
the  angels  must  look  upon  this  earth  as  a 
big  blind  asylum.  We  see  close  to  us,  but  not  afar 
off;  we  see  the  surface,  and  miss  the  depths ;  we 
see  not  as  wide  awake,  but  as  those  who  rub  their 
eyes  hardly  knowing  whether  they  wake  or  sleep. 

Have  I  seen  the  "  wondrous  things  "  out  of  God's 
law  ?  The  things  which  accompany  salvation.  Many 
feel  the  intellectual  interest  of  God's  Word,  enjoy 
its  eloquence,  extol  its  moral  worth,  or  they  ap- 
preciate its  prudential  wisdom,  like  Napoleon,  who 
put  it  in  the  political  section  of  his  library ;  but 
they  do  not  grasp  its  spiritual,  saving  message. 
They  gather  shining  pebbles  and  painted  shells,  and 
overlook  the  pearl  of  great  price. 

Oh !  to  see  the  wondrous  depths  of  redeeming 
love!  Whilst  I  study  systems  of  theology  and 
search  the  commentaries  of  exegetes,  do  I  sufficiently 
remember  the  promised  Revealer  and  wait  His 
illumination  ?  "  Ye  have  an  unction  from  the  Holy 
One,  and  know  all  things." 


22 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  23 

Scripture  Reading— i  Tim.  vi.  9-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"God  loueth  a  cheerful  giuer," — 2  Cor.  ix.  7 

WE  must  combine  a  life  of  unselfishness  with 
a  spirit  of  graciousness ;  constantly  doing 
helpful  things  in  a  fine,  free,  rejoicing  temper.  Friends 
at  weddings  sometimes  dash  the  confetti  so  violently 
into  the  face  of  the  bridal  party  as  to  bring  tears  into 
their  eyes ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  to  bestow  blessings 
so  ungraciously  that  we  wound  those  we  relieve. 

Giving  a  "  cup  of  cold  water  "  in  the  name  of  the 
Master  we  do  not  lose  the  reward.  But  note  that  the 
water  must  be  cold;  herein  lies  its  beauty  and  merit. 
In  a  burning  clime  the  host  has  been  considerate  and 
gives  his  guest  a  chilled  draught.  A  water-pot  full 
to  the  brim  on  which  no  care  has  been  bestowed 
counts  for  little  ;  it  is  the  emptied  cup  that  expressed 
thoughtfulness  and  love  that  the  King  fills  with  gold. 
A  warm  heart  tenders  cold  water. 

Let  us  take  care  in  all  our  helpfulness  that  the 
spirit  in  which  it  is  done  is  lovely,  multiplying  the 
value  of  the  gift  and  service  a  hundredfold.  Let 
nothing  be  cold,  except  the  water. 


23 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  24 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading — Matt.  xxv.  31-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ.'* 
— Gal.  vi.  2 

THE  spirit  of  love  realised  in  Christ  and  reveal- 
ing itself  in  the  law  of  self-sacrifice  is  the 
determining  line  between  the  saved  and  the  lost. 
What  a  truly  solemn  thought ! 

How  many  people  cunningly  and  persistently 
contrive  to  shift  their  burden  to  the  shoulders  of  their 
neighbours  !  They  are  not  particular  as  to  whom 
they  saddle  with  their  duty  and  care,  but  they 
determine  to  bear  as  little  of  it  themselves  as  is 
possible.  In  youth  somebody  must  fag  for  them ; 
they  treat  their  friend  as  a  valet ;  their  public  life  is 
parasitical ;  as  husband  or  wife,  they  shuffle  the  whole 
weight  of  responsibility  on  their  partner. 

The  ingenuity  of  the  ignoble  to  make  themselves 
comfortable  at  other  people's  expense  is  no  small 
part  of  the  comedy  and  tragedy  of  human  life. 

How  different  the  spirit  of  Christ !  Let  me  man- 
fully accept  my  own  burden  ;  and  then,  by  thought, 
sympathy,  influence,  and  substantial  aid,  let  me  lighten 
the  burden  of  my  neighbour.  My  Master  was  the 
great  burden  bearer  of  the  race.  Let  me  drink  in 
His  spirit  and  follow  in  His  steps. 


24 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  25 

Scripture  Reading— Gal.  vi.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"As  we  haue  therefore  opportunity,  let  us  do  good  unto  all 
men." — Gal.  vi.  io 

" ''  I  ^O  work  that  which  is  good  towards  all  men  " 
X  is  a  simple  and  sublime  canon.  We  have 
special  reason  to  succour  them  that  are  of  the  house- 
hold of  faith,  but  after  that  the  field  is  wide— all  are 
brothers,  all  have  a  brother's  claim. 

So  "  then,  as  we  have  opportunity."  What  a  great 
thing  it  is  in  life  to  seize  the  opportunity !  An 
Eastern  traveller  tells  us  that  "the  Arab  is  never 
ready."  If  a  gazelle  is  surprised  it  generally  makes 
good  its  escape  whilst  he  is  fumbling  for  his  gun. 
How  much  like  the  majority  of  us  in  regard  to  the 
chances  of  life ! 

But  if  we  are  unready  to  get,  are  we  not,  too,  often 
strangely  blind  to  the  opportunity  to  give,  help,  bless  ? 
Our  most  genuine  sorrow  is  again  and  again  oc- 
casioned by  the  knowledge  that  we  let  a  gracious 
opportunity  slip.  We  see,  too  late,  what  we  might 
have  done  if  we  had  only  been  awake. 

May  I  this  day  be  alive  to  the  golden  chance  of 
doing  good  !  Let  me  be  ready  to  buy  up  the  oppor- 
tunity. Blessing  is  missed  for  want  of  thought  as 
well  as  want  of  heart. 


25 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 

January  26 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Cor.  viii.  1-9 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"//  there  be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is  accepted  according  to 
that  a  man  hath  and  not  according  to  that  he  hath  not." — 2  Cor. 
viii.  12 

THE  feeling  obtains  widely  even  among  sincere 
people,  that  we  do  so  little  good  because  we 
have  little  resource.  We  dream  of  the  vast  things 
we  should  have  accomplished  with  talent  and  fortune. 

Yet  is  not  the  whole  history  of  Christianity  de- 
signed to  teach  the  contrary  idea,  the  wealth  of  the 
poor,  the  power  of  the  feeble?  He  who  had  not 
where  to  lay  His  head,  has  made  us  all  rich.  His 
Apostles  without  silver  and  gold  dowered  men  with 
health  and  salvation.  The  churches  of  Macedonia  in 
affliction  found  abundance  of  joy,  and  in  deep  poverty 
abounded  unto  the  riches  of  their  liberality.  The 
race  has  been  helped  most  by  benefactors  who 
struggled  with  narrow  means. 

The  degree  in  which  I  bless  the  world  is  far  more 
a  question  of  what  I  am  than  of  what  I  have.  Power 
is  determined  chiefly  by  personality.  Sixteen  ounces 
of  gold  are  sufficient  to  gild  a  wire  that  would  encircle 
the  earth ;  but  faith,  love,  and  prayer  make  a  very 
small  bit  of  gold  do  far  greater  wonders  in  the  moral 
and  spiritual  life  of  mankind.  Shakespeare  made  a 
few  scraps  of  knowledge  go  a  long  way,  but  grace 
effects  more  than  genius  ;  faith,  love,  and  prayer  make 
of  slenderest  intellectual  gifts  instruments  of  measure- 
less blessing. 


26 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  27 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Tim.  ilL 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"//  any  man  suffer  as  a  Christian,  let  him  not  be  ashamed."— 
1  Pet.  iv.  16 

NO  man  need  be  ashamed  who  has  suffered  as  a 
soldier.  The  leg  or  arm  lost  for  his  country's 
sake  is  his  glory.  No  man  need  be  ashamed  who 
has  suffered  in  the  interests  of  society.  Many  cripples 
emerge  out  of  the  army  of  industry  as  well  as  from 
the  field  of  battle,  and  the  blindness  and  mutilation 
of  such  are  tokens  of  honour  moving  the  spectator's 
admiration  and  sympathy.  The  physician  who  has 
suffered  in  the  interests  of  humanity  has  only  pride 
in  his  scars.  How  much  more  if  we  are  counted 
worthy  to  suffer  for  Christ's  sake !  That  is  to  suffer 
for  the  race  in  the  highest  sense  of  all. 

Christ  suffered  joyfully.  He  wore  the  crown  of 
thorns  as  if  it  were  a  wreath  of  roses;  He  went  to 
Calvary  with  a  hymn  on  His  lips — "  I  delight  to  do 
Thy  will,  O  my  God." 

Am  I  a  partaker  of  t/iese  sufferings?  Is  any  part 
of  my  tribulation  anxiety,  pain,  and  loss  on  account 
of  others  ?  Do  I  voluntarily  undertake  services  for 
humanity  which  involve  sacrifice  and  sorrow  ?  Do  I 
rejoice  that  I  am  thus  partaker  of  Christ's  suffering? 

If  "we  suffer  with  Him  we  shall  also  reign  with 
Him." 


27 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  28 

Scripture  Reading. — Acts  vii.  54  ;  viii.  4 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"They  that  were  scattered  abroad  went  everywhere  preaching 
the  word." — Acts  viii.  4 

THE  distribution  of  plants  is  to  the  scientist  a 
most  engrossing  study ;  how  the  wind,  tides, 
and  birds  carry  the  seed  to  widely-sundered  shores 
is  a  veritable  romance.  Even  more  mysterious  are 
the  manifold  ways  by  which  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
has  been,  diffused  throughout  the  nations. 

It  took  root  in  the  red  streets  of  Jerusalem ;  it 
sprang  as  by  magic  in  the  fields  of  Samaria;  it 
blossomed  like  a  rose  in  the  desert  in  the  Ethiopian 
chamberlain ;  its  first-fruits  were  gathered  in  Asia, 
and  directly  harvested  in  Europe. 

Gardeners  often  have  a  piece  of  spare  ground  which 
they  use  for  the  trial  of  seedlings.  Let  us  put  to 
proof  the  gracious  truths  of  revelation  in  our  own 
heart  and  experience ;  and  then,  having  proved  how 
precious  and  beautiful  they  are,  let  us  become  sowers 
of  the  germs  of  life,  scattering  them  by  tongue,  pen, 
and  influence  wherever  we  go. 


28 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  29 

Scripture  Reading. — Prov.  xxiii.  29-35 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  Wine  is  a  mocl<er,  strong  drink  is  raging." — Prov.  xx.  1 

"  T~)  EDNESS  of  eyes "   signifies   in   the  original 

_[\^  "  muddled,  confused  sight "  ;  and  the  main 
idea  of  the  sacred  writer  is  that  in  intoxication  we 
cease  to  see  truly — we  become  the  victims  of  hallucina- 
tions, we  blunder  painfully  as  to  the  fact. 

When  an  opiate  was  offered  to  the  dying  queen 
Maria  Theresa  she  put  it  aside,  saying,  "  I  will  meet 
my  God  awake."  If  noble  souls  could  desire  to  enter 
eternity  with  unclouded  mind,  is  it  less  desirable  that 
we  should  deal  with  the  momentous  things  of  life  with 
perfect  sobriety  of  thought  and  feeling  ? 

The  pilot  of  a  ship,  the  driver  of  an  engine  ought 
not  to  suffer  from  "muddled,  confused  sight";  and 
surely  in  all  this  solemn  and  dangerous  life  we  ought 
to  see  with  clear  eyes  and  be  in  full  possession  of  our- 
selves with  every  step  we  take. 

Truth  and  sobriety  may  seem  prosaic,  but  they  are 
infinitely  better  than  the  lurid  illusions  of  false 
excitements  with  their  tragic  awakenings. 


29 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  30 

Scripture  Reading.— Gal.  v.  13-25 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lust  of  the 
flesh."— GAh.  V.  16 

WHAT  a  terrible  list  of  vices  !  What  an  infernal 
garden  of  weeds  and  nightshade,  with  the 
devil  for  gardener  ever  sowing  poison-flowers  and 
planting  upas  trees  ! 

On  the  other  hand,  what  a  catalogue  of  graces ! 
A  veritable  paradise  of  God,  full  of  blooms  which 
never  spring  naturally  on  earthly  ground. 

"  Walk  in  the  Spirit,"  in  His  wisdom,  power,  and 
peace ;  order  your  lives  by  the  Spirit's  guidance,  and 
ye  shall  by  a  sweet  necessity  break  into  the  fruition 
of  light;  ye  shall  reap  the  harvest  of  the  Spirit's 
sowing ;  and,  on  the  other  side,  there  will  be  no  fear 
of  your  gratifying  the  cravings  of  the  sensual  nature. 

Belonging  to  Christ,  sharing  in  His  death,  we  have 
slain  upon  His  Cross  our  sensual  nature,  with  its 
passions  and  its  cravings  (ver.  24). 

This  is  the  drastic  fashion  of  dealing  with  the 
animal  self  No  soft  impeachment  of  it,  no  feeble 
chiding  of  it  or  gingerly  treatment  of  it,  but  its 
crucifixion.  We  are  dead  to  sin  and  can  live  no 
longer  therein. 


30 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


January  31 

Scripture  Reading.— Matt.  xxiv.  42-51 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Watch  therefore;  for  ye  knoiv  not  what  hour  your  Lord  doth 

come."— Matt.  xxiv.  42 

"  T  N  an  hour  that  ye  think  not  the  Son  of  Man 

I      Cometh."     The  surprises  of  life  are  many,  but 

usually  the  ending   of   life   is   the   greatest   surprise 

of  all. 

Many  are  fond  of  speculating  about  the  commg  of 
the  Son  of  Man  to  judge  the  nations,  a  problem  none 
can  hope  to  resolve.  But  I  know,  and  am  perfectly 
sure,  that  it  cannot  be  long  before  the  Son  of  Man 
will  be  revealed  to  me,  and  call  me  to  give  an  account 
of  my  stewardship.  I  ought  not  to  be  greatly 
surprised  at  any  hour  to  receive  His  summons.  Let 
me  leave  the  larger  question  and  concentrate  myself 
on  the  personal  one. 

When  the  Master  comes  He  ought  to  find  me  living 
the  life  of  spirituality,  love,  purity,  helpfulness.  Alas  ! 
if  He  surprise  me  in  sloth,  selfishness,  sensuality. 
Richard  III.  went  out  at  twilight  to  reconnoitre ;  he 
found  a  sentinel  fast  asleep  at  the  outposts.  The 
king  promptly  stabbed  him  to  the  heart,  with  the 
stern    words,   "  I    found    him    asleep,    and    I    leave 

him  so." 

What  does  the  51st  verse  mean? 


31 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  1 

Scripture  Reading. — Ephes.  v.  1-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"For  the  fruit  of  the  light  is  in  all  goodness  and  righteousness 
and  truth." — Ephes.  v.  9 

"npHE  fruit  of  the  light"  How  beautiful  on 
J[  paper!  the  list  of  the  graces  reads  like  a 
poem,  and  in  actual  life  we  feel  the  full  power  of  their 
beauty.  A  writer  has  just  complained  that  flowers  in 
the  garden  often  fall  far  short  of  the  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  them  in  the  seedsman's  catalogue ;  but  when 
the  sowing  of  the  Spirit  has  free  course  there  is  no 
disappointment;  very  rich  and  delightful  are  the 
passive  and  active  graces  of  the  Christian  character. 

But  a  sensual  taste  is  the  old  serpent  that  destroyed 
the  primitive  Eden.  He  brings  blight  and  ruin. 
The  ghastly  trail  of  an  unchastened  carnal  desire 
defiles  the  soul's  beauty ;  the  creeping  passion  bites 
like  a  serpent,  poisons  like  an  adder,  finally  wrecking 
the  garden  of  the  soul. 

Do  not  be  bewitched  by  his  beauty,  or  beguiled  by 
his  sophistry.  Remember  the  promise,  and  "  trample 
upon  the  adder."  Call  to  your  aid  Him  who  bruises 
the  serpent's  head.    Save  your  paradise. 


32 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  2 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  x.  17-33 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Thine  alms  are  had  in  remembrance  in  the  sight  of  God."— 
Acts  x.  31 

OUR  little  acts  of  kindness  may  be  unremembered 
by  our  friends  and  neighbours,  yet  they  are 
never  forgotten  by  God.  Our  memory  is  usually 
retentive  as  to  what  is  owing  to  us,  and  short  in  regard 
to  what  we  owe  others  ;  but  God  tenderly  keeps  in 
memory  our  best  moments  and  deeds,  rejoicing  to 
remember  our  sins  no  more. 

We  must  not  think  of  our  sacrifices  as  forming  a 
ground  of  merit,  yet  we  may  safely  and  helpfully 
recall  the  fact  that  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget 
our  acts  of  faithfulness  and  love.  For  a  single  fault, 
real  or  imaginary,  friends  take  umbrage  and  ignore 
the  better  things  wrought  by  us  in  many  bygone 
years;  but  in  the  days  in  which  we  falter  and  fail 
Heaven  reminds  itself,  and  us,  that  we  are  capable  of 
better  things.  Do  let  us  remember  that  God  is  full 
of  gracious  consideration  and  rich  sympathy. 

What  a  grand  response  the  prayers  and  gifts  of 
Cornelius  elicited  !  Similar  running-over  measure  will 
God  mete  out  to  us. 


33 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  3 

Scripture  Reading— Gal.  iii.  7-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  just  shall  Hue  by  faith." — Gal.  iii.  11. 

THIS  whole  question  of  faith  and  works  is  simpy 
a  question  whether  religion  is  to  be  a  matter 
of  personal  love,  trust,  and  fellowship,  or  to  be  a  matter 
of  rule,  ceremony,  and  sacrament ;  whether  it  is  to  be 
personal  or  official,  spiritual  or  material,  vital  or 
mechanical. 

Faith  means  vision.  The  constant  sense  of  things 
unseen  and  eternal.  Faith  means  trust.  Daily 
confidence  in  the  faithful  Creator,  the  loving 
Redeemer.  Faith  means  expectation.  The  anticipa- 
tion of  the  recompense  of  the  reward.  Faith  is  the 
root,  hope  is  the  blossom,  charity  is  the  flower  of  true 
religion. 

Let  me  beware  of  the  technical,  the  tangible,  the 
formal  in  my  religious  life  ;  let  me  keep  intact  the 
ethereal  chords  which  bind  me  to  the  upper  universe, 
and  which  bring  into  my  life  the  spiritual  electricity 
on  which  everything  depends.  I  live  by  trust,  love, 
admiration,  fellowship,  revealing  themselves  and 
justifying  themselves  in  obedience. 


34 


THE   GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  4 

Scripture  Reading — ^John  iv.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall 
never  thirst." — John.  iv.  14 

THE  fulness  of  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
"Whosoever."  The  Old  Testament  might 
suggest  limitation  in  God's  thought  and  love,  but  the 
New  Testament  dissipates  the  mist  and  makes  clear 
the  universality  and  plenitude  of  saving  grace.  As 
Andrew  Bonar  says,  "  The  well  of  life  never  sinks 
below  the  brim,"  and  nations  may  drink  and  live. 

How  free  that  grace !  "  That  I  shall  give  him." 
What  a  price  in  suffering  and  sacrifice  the  pilgrim 
must  pay  for  the  waters  of  the  Ganges !  Every 
blessing  in  Christ  is  ours  for  a  look,  a  sigh,  a  breath ! 

How  effectual  is  the  gift !  "  Shall  never  thirst." 
He  who  knows  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  peace  it 
brings,  no  longer  envies  the  golden  goblet  of  wealth, 
the  "  loving  cup "  of  worldly  'festivity,  the  waters  of 
Lethe,  or  any  of  the  many  broken  cisterns  of  the 
carnal  life. 

"  Whosoever  drinketh."  Let  me  consider  that 
word.  "  Eateth,"  "  drinketh."  Do  I  by  personal 
faith  appropriate  the  blessing  ? 


35 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  5 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xxili.  33-47 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Thy  God,  whom  thou  servest  continually,  He  will  deliver 
thee." — Daniel  vi.  16. 

LET  us  beware  of  desperate  moments.  The  God 
whom  we  serve  continually,  He  will  deliver 
us.  In  the  darkest  hours,  in  the  most  threatening 
circumstances,  let  us  trust  and  hope. 

The  triumph  of  Christ  on  the  Cross,  the  establish- 
ment of  His  Kingdom  in  the  very  hour  and  power  of 
darkness,  is  the  assurance  of  the  deliverance  and 
victory  of  the  good  in  all  ages  when  the  sun's  light 
fails  and  the  earth  is  removed  out  of  its  place.  When 
the  worst  comes  to  the  worst,  God  and  His  salvation 
come. 

In  the  deepest  despondency  we  rise  again,  trusting 
in  the  Eternal  love  and  faithfulness.  "  I  am 
astonished,"  says  Quinet,  "  at  the  resources  that  are 
in  the  human  heart,  since  it  can  be  reborn  in  the  very 
moment  it  seemed  to  die.  Oh !  if  we  could  but  trust 
a  little  to  time."  Yes,  if  we  could  only  trust  a  little 
to  time  ;  but  infinitely  better  still  if  we  trust  to 
eternity!  That  shall  see  us  gloriously  righted  and 
satisfied. 


36 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  6 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  ix.  1-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?  " — Acts  ix.  6. 

"  T  ORD,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?"  The 
I  _j  turning  point.  Hitherto  Saul  had  done  what 
he  liked,  and  liked  what  he  did.  Breathing  threatening 
and  slaughter,  haling  men  and  women  to  prison 
suits  the  selfishness  and  truculency  of  human  nature, 
as  fire  and  smoke  a  volcano  ;  but  Saul  must  have 
been  conscious,  when  he  asked  this  question,  that  he 
was  inviting  much  that  would  go  sadly  against  the 
grain. 

This  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God  is  of  the  very 
essence  of  conversion.  According  to  the  Bulgarian 
proverb,  "  The  true  hermit  retires  from  himself." 
He  not  only  removes  from  the  world,  he  renounces 
himself;  forsaking  the  life  of  selfishness  and  sin,  he 
subjects  himself  to  that  higher  law  which  contradicts 
flesh  and  blood  at  every  step. 

This  fusing  of  the  human  will  in  the  will  divine  is 
only  possible  in  the  fire  of  love.     As  Spenser  sings — 

•*  Love  that  two  hearts  makes  one,  makes  eke  one  will." 


37 


THE  GATES  OF  DAAViN 


February  7 

Scripture  Reading — i  Tim.  i.  12-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinnners." — i  Tim, 
i-  IS 

WHATEVER  we  can  do  for  ourselves  heaven 
leaves  us  to  do ;  it  never  weakens  or  stulti- 
fies by  relieving  us  of  obligations  with  which  we  can 
personally  cope.  Christ  coming  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners  demonstrates  our  helplessness.  There 
is  no  more  pathetic  sight  than  to  see  poor  human 
nature  struggling  to  raise  itself  above  itself 

How  infinite  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
how  it  abounds  to  the  chief  of  sinners  !  Paul  for 
once  seems  egotistical  and  to  lay  claim  to  pre- 
eminence over  all  men ;  he  confesses  himself  the 
guiltiest  of  all.  ^ 

But  do  not  all  who  see  themselves  as  God  sees 
them  share  the  Apostle's  conviction  ?  There  are 
as  many  claimants  for  the  lowest  place  in  the  dust  as 
there  are  true  penitents. 

All  are  included  under  sin  that  He  might  have 
mercy  on  all.  Oh  !  the  wonderful  love,  the  infinite 
compassion,  the  almighty  grace.  None  must  pre- 
sume; none  despair.     Just  as  I  am,  let  me  come. 


38 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  8 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xvi.  21-28 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"If  any  man  will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself." — Matt. 
xvi.  24 

OUR  Lord  denied  Himself  in  the  path  of  redemp- 
tion, in  the  procuring  of  salvation  for  a  lost 
world.  We  are  to  deny  ourselves  along  the  same 
path  in  making  that  salvation  known.  A  life  of 
sacrifice  does  not  consist  in  a  few  agonising  dramatic 
acts,  but  in  a  patient  effort  to  let  men  know  how 
much  Christ  loves  them,  how  much  He  has  done  for 
them,  how  much  He  waits  to  give  them. 

What  keeps  me  back  from  publishing  the  sinner's 
Friend  ?  Why  do  I  not  throw  myself  more  heartily 
into  evangelic  work?  Indifference?  How  little  I 
can  know  of  the  Saviour's  spirit  if  I  neglect  to  publish 
the  benefits  of  His  death  !  Pride  ?  The  Son  of  God 
will  teach  me  to  stoop  !  Sloth  ?  What  a  deadly  sin 
is  sloth,  especially  the  sloth  that  causes  me  to  forget 
my  Lord's  vineyard  ! 

There  are  tens  of  thousands  of  Christian  men  and 
women  of  gifts,  culture,  leisure,  doing  nothing,  or 
next  to  nothing,  and  all  the  while  missions  are  with- 
out helpers,  schools  are  lacking  teachers,  the  poor 
the  sick,  the  sad,  are  unvisited  ! 


39 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  9 

Scripture  Reading— i  Thess.  L 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Rejoice,  because  your  names  are  written  in  fieauen." — Luke 
X.  20 

HERE  the  Apostle  strikes  the  note  of  triumph. 
Very  chequered  were  his  experiences  as  he 
passed  from  city  to  city,  but  here  the  note  is  altogether 
that  of  victory  and  thankfulness. 

If  we  envy  this  holy  joy  of  successful  toil,  let  us 
mark  the  qualities  ensuring  success.  We  have  no 
cause  to  rejoice  in  the  Church  except  as  through  it 
fresh  names  are  being  written  in  heaven  ;  how,  then, 
shall  we  secure  this  ? 

The  work  of  the  Thessalonians  was  in  faith,  inspired 
by  faith.  It  was  vitalised  throughout  by  a  great 
belief  in  God,  in  Christ,  in  the  human  soul  and  its 
destiny.  Their  toil  was  born  of  love.  Out  of  a  pure 
heart,  beating  warmly  towards  God  and  man,  sprang 
all  their  teaching,  travelling,  and  sacrifice.  Their 
strong  endurance  was  sustained  by  their  waiting  for 
the  coming  of  the  Lord,  by  their  patience  of  hope. 
These  are  the  founts  and  elements  of  success. 

Faith,  love,  patience :  can  any  work  fail  in  which 
this  trinity  is  engaged  ? 


40 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  10 

Scripture  Reading — Romans  x.  6-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 

saved." — Rom.  x.  13 

REVELATION  leaves  no  method  unemployed 
to  bring  home  to  us  the  fact  that  Christ  died 
for  all  men,  for  the  worst  of  men,  and  that  salvation 
is  a  free  gift. 

Doughty,  whose  knowledge  of  the  Arabs  was  most 
intimate,  says  of  them,  "  In  their  greediness  to  spoil 
the  castaway  life,  whom  they  will  not  help  forward, 
the  Arabs  are  viler  then  any  nation."  When  they 
find  any  sick,  destitute,  or  helpless,  they  are  in  haste 
to  strip  the  forlorn  ones  of  whatever  rags  may  be  left, 
and  to  leave  them  to  perish. 

How  absolutely  contrary  to  the  genius  of  the 
Gospel !  To  save  the  castaway  life  is  the  express 
mission  of  the  Church  of  Christ — the  helpless,  friend- 
less, hopeless  ones  of  the  whole  earth. 

How  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher?  It  is 
the  duty  of  every  saved  sinner  to  tell  of  this  rich,  free 
grace ;  to  seek  to  bring  home  to  his  fellow-sinners 
the  knowledge  of  salvation.     Am  I  faithful  ? 


41 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  11 

Scripture  Reading — Deut.  xviii.  9-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Thou  shalt  be  perfect  with  the  Lord  thy  Got/,"— Deut.  xviii.  13 

THE  Israelites  were  to  keep  themselves  severely 
free  from  the  vices  of  the  heathen  ;  we  are 
required  to  have  no  commerce  with  the  spirit  and 
ways  of  the  world. 

"Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  Mammon,"  said  the 
Master ;  yet  how  cunningly  and  persistently  we 
attempt  the  impossible !  In  curious  ways  we  seek  to 
combine  the  spiritual  and  the  carnal,  the  consecrated 
and  the  profane,  the  divine  and  the  worldly. 

Chemists  are  continually  discovering  the  possibility 
of  blending  substances  once  thought  incompatible; 
but  the  Christian  spirit,  and  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
are  infinitely  disparate,  and  can  never  be  reconciled. 

How  much  easier  and  happier  is  the  Christian  life 
when  once  we  have  effected  a  complete  severance 
from  the  world !  Henry  Drummond  says  truly, 
"  The  most  of  the  difficulties  of  trying  to  live  the 
Christian  life  arise  from  attempting  to  half  live  it." 
To  be  an  out  and  out  disciple  is  to  enjoy  peace  and 
strength  to  which  the  double-hearted  are  entirely 
strange. 


42 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  12 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  xiii.  26-41 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Through  this  man  is  preached  unto  you  the  forgiveness  of 
sins.  "—Acts  xiii.  38 

GOD  forgives  sin  in  the  most  royal  fashion.  As 
Dr.  Owen  writes,  "  The  forgiveness  that  is 
with  God  is  such  as  becomes  Him.  It  is  not  Hke 
that  narrow,  difficult,  halving,  and  manacled  forgive- 
ness that  is  found  amongst  men  ;  but  it  is  full,  free, 
boundless,  bottomless,  absolute,  and  before  which  our 
sins  are  as  a  cloud  before  the  east  wind  and  a  rising 
sun. 

John  saw  "  a  rainbow  round  about  the  throne  "  of 
God  and  the  Lamb.  The  rainbow,  as  we  see  it,  is 
always  an  arc.  The  rainbow  John  saw  was  orbicular, 
a  vast,  completed  ring  of  glory. 

We  see  the  tints  of  the  rainbow  in  human  forgive- 
ness, we  behold  a  majestic  arch  in  the  Mosaic 
dispensation,  but  the  bow  of  the  cloud  in  its 
completeness  is  witnessed  only  about  the  mediatorial 
throne.  The  law  made  nothing  perfect,  but  that  is 
exactly  what  Christ  does.  The  remission  of  sins  is 
so  complete  that  "  every  one  that  believeth  is  justified 
from  all  things."  Do  I  know  this  grace  in  all  its 
richness  and  blessedness  ? 


43 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  13 

Scripture  Reading— Ezek.  iii.  4-n 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  house  of  Israel  will  not  hearken  unto  thee,  for  they  will 
not  hearken  unto  Me." — Ezek.  iii.  7 

THE  privileges  we  enjoy  may  be  misused  to  our 
injury;  our  very  knowledge,  through  pride 
and  prejudice,  may  render  impossible  further  and 
clearer  light. 

Bessemer,  speaking  of  his  discoveries,  said,  "  I  had 
an  immense  advantage  over  many  others,  inasmuch 
as  I  had  no  fixed  ideas  derived  from  long-established 
practice  to  control  and  bias  my  mind,  and  did  not 
suffer  from  the  too  general  belief  that  whatever  is,  is 
right." 

He  meant  that  he  owed  much  to  "golden  ignor- 
ance," to  freedom  from  prejudice,  to  a  sincere  dis- 
interested mind.  If  this  be  true  in  purely  intellectual 
questions,  how  much  more  is  it  so  in  moral  and 
spiritual  life  ! 

A  little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thing,  and  all 
spiritual  knowledge  is  little ;  but  when  associated 
with  conceit,  arrogance,  and  self-will,  the  light  that  is 
in  us  becomes  darkness.  "Teach  me  Thy  way,  O 
Lord ;  show  me  Thy  paths." 


44 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  14 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Cor.  v.  11-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"If  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  neiv  creature."— 2  Cor.  v.  17 

THE  main  point  of  the  passage  concerns  the 
regenerative,  transforming  power  which  ac- 
companies the  preaching  of  the  Word.  The  end  of 
the  whole  redemptive  process  is  that  in  Christ  we 
become  new  creatures. 

Richard  Spruce  tells  of  a  poor  Mamaluco  sailor 
whom  he  encountered  on  his  travels,  and  who  was  a 
bit  of  a  philosopher.  "  How  is  it,"  said  the  native, 
"that  almost  every  animal  except  man  renews  its 
youth  and  beauty  at  stated  seasons?  Birds  moult 
their  plumage,  snakes  slough  their  skins,  even  the 
cockroach  casts  off  its  old  covering,  and  all  come 
forth  bright  and  beautiful  as  in  the  days  of  their  youth ; 
but  we  "  (casting  his  eyes  on  his  brown  wizened  hand) 
"grow  uglier  and  more  discoloured  every  year,  and 
the  same  skin  must  serve  unto  our  dying  day  !  " 

The  poor  fellow  knew  nothing  of  that  transforma- 
tion "in  the  spirit  of  the  mind"  which  is  infinitely 
more  wonderful  than  any  change  that  Nature  knows, 
the  same  skin,  but  a  new  creature  whose  adorning  is 
a  transfigured  soul. 


45 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  15 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Tim.  iv.  1-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise." — 
2  Tim.  iii,  15 

THE  strength,  safety,  and  serviceableness  of 
Timothy  was,  in  the  estimation  of  St.  Paul, 
largely  the  consequence  of  early  familiarity  with  the 
sacred  writings. 

Careful  experiments  have  shown  that  the  deviation 
of  the  compass  on  board  iron  ships  is  very  perceptible, 
which  is  due  solely  to  the  position  occupied  by  the 
vessel  while  it  was  lying  on  the  building  slip,  where  it 
acquires  a  definite  magnetic  character,  the  needle 
invariably  turning  to  that  part  of  the  ship  which  was 
farthest  from  the  north  while  she  was  in  process  of 
construction. 

Is  not  the  human  character  profoundly  affected 
whilst  on  the  building  slip?  Is  there  not  then 
imparted  to  the  soul  a  bias  which  strangely  persists 
through  the  years  ?  Do  we  not  then  acquire  a  definite 
moral  character  ?  Let  us  watch  carefully  the  culture 
of  the  child,  building  ever  with  an  eye  to  the  cardinal 
points,  so  shall  the  delicate  needle  of  choice  and 
sympathy  suffer  no  deviation,  but  point  infallibly  to 
the  true  lode-star. 


46 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  16 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Cor.  iv.  5-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Death  worketh  in  us,  but  life  in  you." — 2  Cor.  iv.  12 

THE  point  specially  to  be  observed  here  is  the 
unselfishness  of  the  Apostle's  suffering.  His 
sorrows  were  to  a  large  extent  vicarious,  and  because 
they  were  vicarious,  his  humiliations  were  changed 
into  triumphs,  his  losses  into  gain,  his  grief  into 
gaiety. 

The  martyrs  of  science  are  so  renowned  because 
they  suffered  poverty  and  persecutions  that  they 
might  enrich  the  world  with  their  discoveries.  The 
martyrs  of  literature  are  honoured  because  their 
genius  carried  our  burden  ;  they  bled  for  our  larger 
illumination  and  delight.  The  martyrs  of  patriotism 
are  crowned  with  flowers  because  they  wore  the  crown 
of  sorrows  for  our  political  emancipation.  The 
martyrs  of  God  are  sublime  because  they  laid  down 
their  lives  for  their  brethren. 

The  more  the  element  of  disinterestedness  comes 
into  life  the  more  is  life  exalted,  satisfied,  honoured. 
Unselfishness  is  the  secret  of  sorrow's  transfiguration. 
Selfish  sorrow  starves,  paralyses,  embitters,  works 
death. 


47 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  17 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading— Matt,  xxiii.  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  that  is  greatest  among   you  shall  be  your  servant" — 
Matt,  xxiii.  11 

IT  was,  indeed,  an  original  thought  in  the  world 
when  Jesus  Christ  identified  greatness  with 
service.  Closely  regarded,  the  morality  of  the  New 
Testament  is  full  of  originality,  yet  nowhere  more 
than  here. 

The  iron  crown  of  Lombardy  is  composed  of  a 
broad  circle  of  gold,  set  with  large  rubies,  emeralds, 
and  sapphires,  on  a  ground  of  blue  and  gold  enamel. 
But  the  most  important  part  of  the  iron  crown,  from 
which  it  derives  its  name,  is  a  narrow  rim  or  band  of 
iron  attached  to  the  inner  circumference  of  the  circle. 
This  inner  band  of  sacred  iron  is  believed  to  have 
been  made  of  one  of  the  nails  used  at  the  crucifixion, 
and  accounts  for  the  veneration  in  which  the  crown 
has  always  been  held. 

How  instinctively  men  feel  that  the  true  greatness 
is  not  in  the  gold,  rubies,  emeralds,  and  sapphires  of 
pride ;  but  rather  in  the  iron  which  entered  into  the 
soul  of  one  who  served  and  suffered  for  us  all !  Any 
work,  suffering,  sacrifice,  with  the  element  of  service 
in  it,  is  sublime.  The  nail  is  the  Koh-i-noor.  The 
crown  of  thorns  the  diadem  of  the  kingliest.  The 
throne  of  glory  is  prepared  for  the  loving  helper  of 
his  brother. 


48 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  18 

Scripture  Reading — Gal.  ii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"For  I  through  the  law  am  dead  to  the  lavu  that  I  might  live 
unto  God."— Gal.  ii.  19 

THE  contrast  here  is  between  law  and  life.  "  I, 
through  the  operation  of  the  curse  of  the  law, 
have  (in  Messiah's  person)  suffered  the  death  which 
puts  me  beyond  the  reach  of  the  law,  to  live  hence- 
forth a  life  consecrated  to  God." 

The  death  of  Christ  freed  me  from  the  dominion 
of  the  law  as  given  by  Moses,  by  creating  within  me 
the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life.  The  difference  between 
art  and  nature  shadows  forth  the  difference  between 
obedience  in  the  Mosaic  dispensation  and  the 
obedience  of  Christ.  It  is  the  difference  between  the 
artificial  flower  and  the  garden  rose,  between  the 
sculptured  figure  and  the  breathing  body ;  the  one 
shaped  from  outside,  the  other  determined  from 
within.  It  is  the  difference  between  the  mechanical 
and  the  vital ;  the  one  unsympathetic  and  constrained, 
the  other  organic,  instinctive,  voluntary,  delightful. 
The  law  is  henceforth  put  within  our  mind,  written  in 
our  heart. 

Let  me  seek  that  the  grace  of  Christ  so  hallows  my 
thought,  and  conscience,  and  will,  that  my  very 
nature  becomes  identified  with  the  eternal  law  of 
righteousness. 


49 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  19 

Scripture  Reading— John  xv.  17-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Be  ye  doers  of  the  word  and  not  hearers  only." — James  i.  22 

THESE  things  I  command  you  that  ye  should  go 
and  bear  fruit."  The  Jews  generally  were 
guilty  of  unbelief  and  disobedience,  but  the  disciples 
were  to  believe  in  Him  in  such  a  way  that  their  faith 
would  demonstrate  itself  in  beautiful  works  and  ways. 

They  were  to  be  doers  of  the  word  and  not  hearers 
only.  How  easy  it  is  to  fall  into  the  error  of  treating 
Christianity  as  if  it  were  an  abstract  thing ;  to  enter- 
tain it  as  a  mere  doctrine,  to  discuss  it  controversially, 
to  deal  with  it  as  a  theory,  as  an  abstruse  speculation  ! 
This  is  a  great  and  subtle  peril.  Yet  how  entirely 
unsatisfactory  !  It  is  like  cheating  ourselves  with  the 
reflection  of  a  bank  note  in  a  looking-glass.  As  love 
is  the  glory  of  God,  so  must  it  be  reckoned  the  glory 
of  man.  Glory  not  in  strength,  riches,  or  genius,  but 
in  the  love  that  seeks  another's  good.  The  love  of  God 
suffered  and  bled.  So  our  love  must  not  evaporate 
in  poetry,  but  take  upon  itself  vicarious  sacrificial 
burdens. 

Let  me  realise  my  creed  in  thought,  prove  it  in 
experience,  illustrate  it  in  character,  obey  it  in  daily 
practical  life.     Thus  do  I  build  on  the  rock. 


50 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  20 

Scripture  Reading — i  Cor.  ii.  1-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  accord- 
ing to  His  mercy  He  saved  us." — Titus  iii.  5 

THAT  our  salvation  is  wholly  of  God  is  a  truth 
that  ever  becomes  clearer  to  a  sincere  spiritual 
mind. 

Our  works  of  righteousness  are  really  not  works  of 
righteousness  at  all ;  if  you  put  the  whitest  snow,  the 
purest  dew,  under  the  glass,  they  are  found  defiled  ; 
and  beneath  the  criticism  of  the  spiritual  law  our  best 
feelings  and  deeds  are  not  perfect  before  God. 

When  the  great  theologian,  Richard  Watson,  was 
on  his  death-bed,  he  confessed,  "  I  feel  myself  like  a 
worm  that  has  just  crawled  out  of  the  earth  amidst 
the  glory  of  the  meridian  sun.  It  behoves  me  to  lie 
very  low  in  the  dust  before  God." 

The  noble  missionary  John  Hunt  said  in  dying, 
"  Let  me  go,  a  heap  of  inconsistencies,  backslidings, 
and  unfaithfulness ;  let  me  go,  as  I  trust  I  shall 
through  Divine  mercy  alone,  to  heaven." 

If  these  eminent  saints  thus  abandoned  themselves, 
to  trust  wholly  in  God's  mercy  and  Christ's  merit,  can 
I  dare  to  reckon  on  anything  that  I  am  or  have  done  ? 
It  is  sweet  and  safe  to  pray  with  the  Apostle,  '*  That 
I  may  find  mercy  in  that  day." 


51 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  21 

Scripture  Reading — i  John  iii.  18-24 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  us  not  love  in  word,  .  .  .  ;  but  in  deed  and  in  truth." 

I  John  iii.  18 

SINCERITY  is  of  the  very  first  importance  in  all 
human  life  and  conduct.  J.  A.  Froude  writes 
most  wisely  on  this  point.  "  Be  sincere  with  your- 
self, whatever  the  temptation.  Say  nothing  to  others 
that  you  do  not  think,  and  play  no  tricks  with  your 
own  mind.  Of  all  the  evil  spirits  abroad  in  the  world 
insincerity  is  the  most  dangerous." 

Truthfulness  in  dealing  with  God.  Nothing  unreal, 
simulated,  affected ;  nothing  without  veracity  and 
honesty  of  purpose.  Is  not  the  etymological 
signification  of  sincerity,  sunshine?  "  If  we  say  that 
we  have  fellowship  with  Him,  and  walk  in  the  dark- 
ness, we  lie." 

Truthfulness  in  dealing  with  men.  To  think  to 
deceive  them  is  to  deceive  ourselves,  and  we  do  not 
mislead  them  for  long.  They  discern  the  hollowness 
of  sham  goodness  much  sooner  even  than  the  worth- 
lessness  of  sham  jewellery.  There  is  an  idiom  in 
truth,  actuality,  sincerity,  that  our  neighbours  rarely 
mistake. 


52 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  22 

Scripture  Reading— James  iii.  1-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Where  envying  and  strife  is,  tliere  is  confusion  and  every  evil 
work." — James  iii.  16 

IT  is  a  common  thing  in  South  America  for  a 
person  stung  by  a  scorpion  to  have  the  tongue 
paralysed  for  some  hours ;  but  stung  by  the  scorpion 
sin,  the  tongue  acquires  a  fatal  nimbleness. 

How  true  that  envy  and  strife  breed  every  evil 
work  !  The  destructive  fires  which  mysteriously  occur 
in  the  great  forests  of  the  West  are  said  to  be 
occasioned  by  the  friction  set  up  by  the  wind 
agitating  the  branches  of  the  trees.  Two  branches 
rub  against  each  other  until  a  spark  is  kindled,  and  in 
the  end  the  forest  is  reduced  to  ashes. 

How  much  this  resembles  the  irritations  of  the 
home,  the  oppositions  of  business,  the  rivalries  of 
members  within  the  Christian  Church ! 

Let  me  seek  peace  and  pursue  it.  A  tranquil, 
kindly,  genial  temper  means  much.  Astronomers 
prize  serene,  clear  nights  for  the  vision  of  the  heavens ; 
so  I  best  see  the  unseen  and  eternal  through  an 
untroubled  medium.  I  best  serve  my  neighbour, 
and  he  best  serves  me,  as  we  live  in  peace. 


53 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  23 

Scripture  Reading — Prov.  x.  11-22 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  tongue  of  the  just  is  as  choice  siluer," — Prov.  x.  20 

SILVER-TONGUED  orators  are  greatly  famous 
and  much  sought  after ;  yet,  after  all,  the 
tongue  of  the  just  is  the  rarest  eloquence,  and  this 
excellence  is  open  to  all. 

Beware  of  "  flattering  words  ";  words  of  ensnaring 
eloquence,  of  specious  argument,  of  smooth  deceit 
and  seductiveness.  Watch  against  "the  multitude  of 
words."  "  If  we  talk  much  we  talk  well,"  said  a  lady 
to  a  cardinal.  His  eminence  replied  :  "  Half  of  that 
is  true."  Watch  the  scornful  words  which  wound 
like  a  sharp  razor.  Use  not  the  tongue  as  an  engine 
of  treachery.  Condescend  not  to  the  idle  gossip  that 
wanteth  not  sin.  Refrain  from  "  devouring  words  "  ; 
that  most  brutal  and  truculent  form  of  cannibalism 
which  in  slander  swallows  down  a  brother's  reputation. 
Dread  the  impure,  the  impious  word.  Suppress  the 
whisper  that  might  bring  down  an  avalanche  of 
trouble  and  ruin. 

How  wide  is  the  range  of  sin  and  mischief  possible 
to  the  tongue  !  If  we  can  only  be  innocent  here,  we 
shall  be  well-nigh  guiltless  of  all  offence. 


54 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  24 

Scripture  Reading- -IIeb.  xi.  32-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him." — Heb.  xi.  16 

SIR  SAMUEL  BAKER  says,  "The  African  will 
believe  in  nothing,  unless  he  can  obtain  some 
specific  benefit  from  the  object  of  his  belief"  Much 
faith  in  this  day  is  of  the  same  carnal  species. 

When  a  Bible-reader  inquired  of  a  poor  creature  in 
the  slums  as  to  what  he  believed  in,  the  reply  came 
frankly,  "  In  a  mutton  chop." 

Much  modern  faith  in  Christianity  resolves  itself 
into  this  sordid  service.  Something  is  to  be  said  for 
the  test  of  utility,  but  our  Lord  thought  little  of  the 
faith  occupied  with  loaves  and  fishes. 

The  test  of  pure  faith  is  not  in  what  it  gets,  but  in 
what  it  yields ;  not  in  what  it  enjoys,  but  in  what  for 
the  sake  of  the  highest  it  is  prepared  to  suffer ;  not 
in  its  material  lucrativeness,  but  in  its  moral  and 
spiritual  efficiency. 

The  faith  described  in  these  verses  is  a  very 
different  thing  from  the  faith  that  justifies  itself  by 
putting  money  into  our  pocket,  bread  into  our  mouth, 
and  by  scattering  flowers  on  our  path. 

Let  me  know  that  faith  of  Christ  which  is  set  on 
the  highest,  which  suffers  for  the  highest,  which 
achieves  the  highest. 


55 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  25 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  xii.  5-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  upon  the  righteous,  and  His  ears  are 
open  unto  their  cry." — Ps.  xxxiv.  15 

IT  has  been  wisely  and  truthfully  written,  "  True 
prayer  is  no  earth-born  thing.  It  is  falling 
helpless  at  a  Father's  knee  in  answer  to  His  call.  It 
is  the  putting  up  of  empty  hands  to  receive  what  has 
been  already  promised.  It  is  a  poor,  weak,  trembling 
echo  of  Divine  love.  It  is  a  pure  thought,  born  in 
Heaven,  and  struggling  back  again  into  its  native 
atmosphere,  with  some  of  the  dust  of  earth  upon  its 
wings. 

"  When  you  cry  for  special  blessings  in  such  a  spirit, 
be  sure  that  you  are  not  only  fulfilling  the  required 
conditions  of  all  answered  prayer,  but  that  in 
answering  you  for  your  highest  good,  God  is  acting 
in  exact  accordance  with  the  conditions  of  His  own 
infinite  being.  The  special  answer  will  follow  the 
special  prayer." 

We  are  always  getting  into  straits  of  some  sort 
which  shut  us  up  as  in  stone  walls  or  iron  cages. 
We  know  the  remedy.  The  disciples  did  not  petition 
Herod,  but  Heaven ;  and  Heaven  granted  an  order 
of  release,  which  Herod  could  not  gainsay.  Do  not 
let  our  poor  ignorant  reasonings  about  prayer  stultify 
our  Divine  instinct. 


56 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  26 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  xiii,  1-12 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually."— IsK.  Iviii,  11 

THE  Divine  guidance  of  the  Christian  Church  is 
a  reassuring  fact.  The  pilot  of  Galilee  took 
charge  of  it  from  its  very  inception,  and  the  Divine 
superintendence  has  never  been  withdrawn.  Just  as 
the  philosophical  historian  recognises  design  and 
government  in  the  world  at  large,  the  Christian 
believer  must  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  development  of  the  Church. 

Do  we  seek  as  we  ought  this  leading  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  direction  of  ecclesiastical  rule  and  evangelical 
enterprise  ?  Our  God  keeps  all  things  tremblingly 
dependent  upon  Himself.  The  Spirit  accompanies 
the  Bible,  and  is  essential  to  its  interpretation.  He 
ever  overshadows  the  Church,  and  is  essential  to  its 
guidance.  We  must  not  forget  the  Spirit  in  the 
statesman. 

Whilst  ever  alive  to  Christ's  spiritual  providence 
over  the  affairs  of  His  Church,  let  us  not  forget  his 
spiritual  directorship  in  all  the  phases  of  our  religious 
experience  and  history.  "And  may  our  Lord  pilot 
your  hearts  into  the  haven  of  the  love  of  God,  into 
such  calm  patience  as  was  Messiah's,"  is  Arthur  S. 
Way's  translation  of  2  Thess.  iii.  5. 


57 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  27 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  xiii.  7-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Ouje  no  man  anything,  but  to  hue  one  another." — Rom,  xiii.  8 

LOVE  is  here  shown  as  obligation.  It  is  a  debt ; 
something  that  we  owe.  To  love  one  another 
is  usually  regarded  as  a  question  of  pure  sentiment 
and  caprice.  We  regard  ourselves  with  infinite 
reproach  if  we  do  not  discharge  our  financial  liabili- 
ties, but  that  we  fail  to  honour  and  help  our 
neighbour  seems  at  most  as  if  we  were  only  neglectful 
of  the  poetry  of  life.  True  love  is  dutiful ;  it  has  the 
sense  of  obligation. 

Love  has  a  wide  range — it  implies  universal  obliga- 
tion. The  Greek  word  translated  in  the  text 
"  neighbour "  is  given  in  the  margin  "  the  other." 
That  is  simple  and  large.  "  The  other,"  never  mind 
anything  more.  No  matter  about  nation,  rank,  or 
kindred  ;  no  matter  whether  stranger,  foe,  or  suspect ; 
"  the  other."     It  is  a  debt  to  society,  to  humanity. 

The  sufficiency  of  love.  It  is  the  guarantee  for 
the  discharge  of  manifold  obligation.  Love  is  really 
ethical  genius;  it  fits  for  the  swift,  complete,  and 
delightful  accomplishment  of  the  universal  duty.  If 
law  is  the  definition  of  love,  love  is  the  summation 
of  law. 


58 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  28 

Scripture  Reading— Rom.  vi.  8-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"If  we  be  dead  with  Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall  also  live 
with  Him." — Rom,  vi.  8 

HOW  entirely  the  mind  of  the  Apostle  is 
occupied  with  sin !  The  fact  of  sin,  its 
power,  its  mastery,  is  the  subject  of  his  whole 
thought.  Nothing  is  to  him  of  the  slighest  conse- 
quence in  art,  philosophy,  or  politics,  compared  with 
the  question  of  understanding  and  dealing  with  the 
principle  of  lawlessness,  which  afflicts  us.  It  should 
also  be  the  first  grand  question  with  us  all. 

In  our  oneness  with  Christ  we  have  died  to  sin ;  in 
our  oneness  with  Him  we  have  risen  into  a  new,  holy, 
immortal  life.  If  the  death  unto  sin  is  the  first 
thought,  the  ascent  unto  righteousness  becomes  the 
second  and  final  aspiration. 

This  is  the  primary,  beautiful,  dominant  ideal  of 
the  Christian  life — holiness  to  the  Lord.  The  old 
self  is  dead,  the  grass  grows  over  it,  the  Devil  himself 
being  the  chief  mourner ;  the  new  self  walks  in  the 
glory  of  a  divine  and  eternal  righteousness. 

Completeness  is  the  grand  thought  of  this  passage. 
Completeness  in  the  severance  from  sin  ;  completeness 
of  identification  with  the  Lord  of  righteousness. 


59 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


February  29 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Cor.  vi.  11-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Be ye  not  unequally  yoked  together  with  unbelievers."— 2  Cor. 
vi.  14 

THERE  are  few  greater  illusions  than  to  think 
that  we  can  voluntarily  enter  into  association 
with  evil  and  yet  be  none  the  worse  for  it.  Whatever 
precautions  we  may  adopt,  the  coarse  thing  which  we 
foolishly  allow  will  infect  us. 

A  photographic  plate  may  be  wrapped  up  in  any 
quantity  of  black  paper  to  make  perfectly  sure  that 
there  is  no  risk  whatever  of  light  getting  to  it ;  but 
if  a  radio-active  substance  is  anywhere  near,  it  will 
penetrate  the  black  paper,  and  impress  figures  on 
the  plate  despite  the  protective  darkness. 

But  the  heart  is  more  sensitive  than  any  photo- 
graphic film  or  plate,  and  if  we  gratuitously  allow 
ourselves  in  equivocal  associations,  they  will  in- 
juriously affect  our  thought  and  temper,  in  spite  of 
the  cleverest  and  most  elaborate  precautions. 

It  is  enough  that  we  have  to  guard  against  the 
depressing  and  defiling  influences  of  daily  life,  with- 
out voluntarily  touching  pitch. 


60 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  1 

Scripture  Reading — i  Peter  i.  13-25 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"As  He  which  hath  called  you  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy. " — i  Peter 

i.  IS 

"AS  He  which   hath  called  you."     Judging  our- 

_/~\^  selves  in  the  light  of  the  world,  we  may 
easily  find  grounds  for  personal  satisfaction ;  but  to 
judge  ourselves  in  the  light  of  the  Lord,  to  measure 
ourselves  by  the  Divine  standard,  is  to  put  our  pride 
to  shame. 

Corot  said  :  "  When  I  find  myself  in  one  of  Nature's 
beautiful  places,  I  grow  angry  with  my  pictures." 
Pleased  with  them  in  his  studio,  in  sight  of  the  glory 
of  the  world  the  artist  was  humbled. 

We  may  be  content  with  ourselves,  comparing 
ourselves  with  ourselves,  but  in  the  presence  of  the 
purity  and  beauty  of  the  Lord  we  are  rebuked.  O  that 
I  may  see  sin  as  God  sees  it,  and  renounce  it  with  all 
my  heart ! 

Yet  our  consolation  is  here.  He  who  has  called  us 
to  emulate  His  spotlessness  will  also  do  it.  If  we 
give  Him  free  course,  and  loyally  co-operate  with 
His  grace,  our  calling  will  become  effectual,  and  the 
servant  be  as  His  Lord. 


61 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  2 

Scripture  Reading — Ephes.  iv.  17-24 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Put  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  is  created  in  righteouS' 
ness  and  true  holiness." — Ephes.  iv.  24 

THE  people  used  to  complain  of  Chrysostom,  the 
golden-mouthed  preacher,  that  he  was  always 
harping  on  one  string.  The  Apostle  Paul  might  be 
similarly  impeached  ;  holiness  is  the  golden  string  on 
which  he  never  ceases  to  make  music. 

Have  we  not  all  to  fear  imperfect  repentance? 
That  we  put  the  sin  away  without  abhorring  it ;  that 
we  put  it  away  partially  ;  that  we  put  it  away  in  gross 
forms,  to  entertain  it  in  subtler  forms ;  that  we  bury 
our  idols  when  we  ought  to  burn  them  ? 

"  Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  In  Arabic 
countries  the  belief  is  common  that  if  a  child  is  sickly, 
or  of  infirm  understanding,  and  his  parents  put  upon 
him  the  name  of  wolf,  or  leopard,  or  lion,  his  human 
fragility  will  take  on  a  temper  of  strength  and  noble- 
ness. This  superstition  becomes  a  glorious  moral 
truth  as  we  hide  ourselves  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and 
wrap  ourselves  up  in  His  merit,  love,  and  power. 

The  old  offending  nature  dies,  dies  utterly,  in 
fellowship  with  Him.  It  cannot  survive  contact  with 
His  grace  and  beauty.  "And  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  hath  been  created  in  righteousness  and 
holiness  of  truth,"  takes  the  place  of  the  annihilated 
sensual  self. 


62 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  3 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  xvi.  1-15 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God." 
— Rom.  X.  17 

IT  is  inspiring  to  remember  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
is  ever  operating  on  the  minds  of  men,  preparing 
them  for  the  reception  of  gospel  truth  and  blessing. 
We  see  this  in  the  longing  of  Macedonia,  in  the 
sensibility  of  Lydia. 

It  is  a  common  mistake  to  assume  the  unfitness, 
the  unripeness  of  men  for  the  blessing,  when  in  truth 
the  very  opposite  is  the  fact.  As  the  opening  flowers 
display  their  leaves  and  gladly  drink  in  the  solar  fire, 
so  hearts  all  around  us  hunger  and  thirst  for  spiritual 
blessing. 

Yet  it  is  only  when  the  appeal  is  made  by  the 
evangelist,  only  when  he  proclaims  the  gospel 
message  of  truth  and  love,  that  the  spiritual  affinities 
and  aspirations  of  the  waiting  heart  are  evoked. 
"  Faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word 
of  God." 

When  a  grain  of  pollen  is  brought  to  a  plant  by 
wind  or  wing,  it  is  fertilised,  and  its  blossoms  pass 
into  richer  flower  and  fruit ;  so  often  to  a  single 
gracious  word  human  souls  will  respond  in  immediate 
joyous  faith  and  love.  "  Whose  heart  the  Lord 
opened,  to  give  heed  unto  the  things  which  were 
spoken  by  Paul."  How  the  human  and  divine 
ministries  are  blended ! 


63 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  4 

Scripture  Reading— Philippians,  iii.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"I  pray  ,  .  .  that  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without  offence  till 
the  day  of  CAr/st."— Philippians  i.  lo 

LOVE  to  God  and  'man  is  to  abound  more  and 
more,  yet  it  is  to  remain  reflective  and  dis- 
criminative. Tiie  ninth  and  tenth  verses  remind  us 
that  love  is  not  vague  sentiment,  unreasoning 
enthusiasm,  the  mere  poetic  embroidering  of  life. 

A  recent  writer  on  the  growing  of  summer  roses 
gives  this  advice :  "  A  certain  use  of  the  critical 
faculty,  even  on  the  best  of  June  mornings,  some  sort 
of  classifying  of  sorts  and  specimens,  and  a  defining 
of  perhaps  too  vague  ideals  and  desires,  would,  for 
many  rosarians,  repay  ten  times  over  the  temporary 
loss  of  a  little  enthusiasm.  A  really  skilled  grower 
owns  a  mind  balanced  between  zeal  and  caution ; 
analytic  even  in  its  hours  of  fruition." 

Do  not  many  of  the  saints  need  similar  advice  ? 
We  need  more  discerning  and  classifying  to  define 
our  too  vague  ideals  and  designs,  to  instruct  our  zeal, 
to  get  a  sounder  judgment  into  our  fine  enthusiasms. 

What  is  love  without  knowledge  ?  What  is  love 
without  conscience,  justice,  right  ?  What  is  love 
without  character  and  obedience  ? 


64 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  6 

Scripture  Reading — Phil.  ii.  12-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me." — Phil.  iv.  13 

THE  great  ideal  of  Christian  character  and  life  is 
possible  because  of  the  Divine  power  which 
worketh  in  us.  He  who  supplies  the  ideal  supplies 
the  grace.     He  who  sets  the  task  inspires  the  genius. 

Having  attained  to  a  pure  arid  blameless  character, 
we  become  luminaries  in  a  dark  world.  As  a  light- 
house shines  across  the  sea,  so  we  hold  forth  the  word 
of  life  in  our  lips  and  lives.  There  is  such  a  thing  as 
speaking  for  Jesus,  singing  for  Jesus,  working  for 
Jesus,  and  there  is  such  a  thing  as  simply  shining  for 
Jesus. 

Does  not  the  Apostle  remind  us  that  if  we  are  to 
play  the  part  of  luminaries  we  must  be  real,  and  pure, 
and  lofty?  "Children  of  God  without  blemish." 
Spots  on  the  sun  are  here  of  serious  moment.  Our 
faults  terribly  interfere  with  our  usefulness.  Let  us 
not  be  dim  lights,  intermittent  lights,  lights  in  which 
there  is  the  shadow  of  turning. 


65 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  6 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  xvi.  16-24 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate."— Luke  xiii.  24 

""\'\  THICH  brought  her  masters  much  gain  by 
V  Y  soothsaying."  "  Her  masters  saw  that  the 
hope  of  their  gain  was  gone."  How  often  do  we  find 
covetousness  at  the  bottom  of  moral  failure  and 
spiritual  declension  ! 

Captain  Scott,  in  T/ie  Voyage  of  the  Discovery,  tells 
of  the  immense  care  that  was  taken  by  the  magnetic 
experts  on  board  to  banish  all  iron  and  steel  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  magnetic  observatory.  Everything 
within  thirty  feet  of  the  observatory  had  to  be  made 
of  brass,  lead,  hemp,  or  some  other  non-magnetic 
material.  These  regulations  secured  the  accuracy  of 
the  magnetic  observation. 

But  the  motions  of  the  heart  are  most  disturbed  by 
a  bit  of  gold  anywhere  in  its  neighbourhood.  The 
thought  of  gain  seems  to  mar  and  deflect  the  whole 
delicate  machinery  of  the  moral  sense.  Let  a  single 
yellow  particle  insinuate  itself  too  near  the  sacred 
circle  of  the  conscience,  and  the  judgment  is  no 
longer  true  to  the  eternal  verities.  We  must  watch 
here  lest  greed  should  cause  us  to  forget  honesty, 
fairness,  brotherliness. 


66 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  7 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  vi.  25-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  that  loseth  his  life  for  H/ly  sake  shall  find  it." — Matt,  x.  39 

HOW  real,  great,  and  delightful  was  the  change 
that  the  midnight  prison  witnessed  !  It  was 
the  habit  of  the  old  Methodists  to  speak  of  a  newly- 
converted  man  as  one  who  had  "  found  liberty,"  and 
strangely  enough  the  gaoler  himself  this  time  was 
the  ransomed  one.  Happy  the  man  whose  chains 
have  fallen  off,  whose  heart  is  free,  and  whose  dungeon 
life  gives  place  to  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  God's 
dear  children  ! 

How  convincingly  the  change  was  demonstrated  ! 
"  And  he  took  them  the  same  hour  of  the  night,  and 
washed  their  stripes.  .  .  .  And  he  brought  them  up 
into  his  house,  and  set  meat  before  them,  and  rejoiced 
greatly."  This  was  he  who  a  little  before  had  "  cast 
them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  made  their  feet  fast 
in  the  stocks."  Restitution,  reparation  is  a  fine  proof 
of  genuine  conversion. 

The  interior  change  must  be  evidenced  in  the  out- 
ward conduct,  and  no  proof  of  conversion  is  more 
indubitable  than  the  more  faithful,  generous,  and 
loving  treatment  of  our  fellow-men. 


67 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  8 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Cor.  xii.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness." — 2  Cor.  xii,  9 

IT  appears  almost  certain  that  the  weakness  here 
recorded  was  bodily  weakness,  which,  in  the 
Apostle's  case,  as  in  so  many  others,  was  closely 
allied  with  mental  disturbance  and  trouble. 

Torstensohn  was  one  of  the  generals  formed  in 
the  school  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  and  to  whom 
that  great  commander  transmitted  the  prosecution 
of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Physically,  he  was  so 
shattered  and  dislocated  by  disease  and  deformity, 
that  he  could  neither  walk  nor  ride  on  horseback. 
He  had  to  be  carried  at  the  head  of  his  forces  in  a 
litter.  Yet  no  commander  of  his  age  was  so  resist- 
less and  terrible  in  his  onset  and  so  invariably 
victorious. 

Let  us  be  loath  to  accept  infirmity  as  an  excuse 
for  uselessness.  A  naturalist  asks :  "  How  is  it  that 
the  golden-crested  wren,  apparently  so  weak  and 
helpless,  can  fly  right  across  the  North  Sea  from 
Norway  ?  "  Because  God  knows  how  to  fix  strange 
energy  within  delicate  organisms.  Our  very  in- 
firmities through  resolution  and  grace  may  give  us 
special  efficacy. 


68 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  9 

Scripture  Reading— Dan.  iii.  19-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Our  God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver  us." — Dan.  iii.  17 

THE  Babylonians  were  to  discover  that  there 
was  another  gold  than  that  of  which  their 
golden  image  was  made.  The  stuff  out  of  which  true 
men  are  fashioned  is  the  fine  gold  of  the  universe. 

The  best  people  are  greatly  tried.  "  The  most 
mighty  men  that  were  in  the  King's  army  "  were  set 
to  bind  the  faithful  three  ;  and  the  fiery  furnace  was 
heated  "  seven  times  more  than  it  was  wont."  Hell 
does  its  worst  with  the  saints.  The  rarest  souls 
have  been  tested  with  high  pressures,  strains,  and 
temperatures. 

But  heaven  will  not  desert  us.  "Lo,  I  see  four 
men  loose."  There  is  always  One  extra.  We  some- 
times think  sadly  and  doubtfully  of  the  fiery  trials 
which  are  to  try  us,  but  to  doubt  is  disloyalty.  "  Our 
God  whom  we  serve  is  able  to  deliver  us."  Are 
we  now  trusting  and  serving  Him  ?  It  is  through 
practical  obedience  that  we  become  dear  to  God,  and 
through  fire  and  water  He  brings  us  into  the  wealthy 
place.    The  fire  does  not  consume  but  transfigures. 


69 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  10 

Scripture  Reading — i  Thess.  iii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"For  now  we  live  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord. " — i  Thess.  iii.  8 

THE  Apostle  exults  to  know  that  amid  great 
afflictions  and  temptations  his  Thessalonian 
converts  stood  firm.  "  This  to  me  is  very  life,  the 
consciousness  that  you  stand  firm  in  union  with  our 
Lord." 

The  writer  knew  a  manufacturer  of  anchors  and 
chains,  who  was  exceedingly  proud  of  a  large 
photograph  in  one  of  his  rooms,  representing  a  ship 
riding  at  anchor  in  a  tremendous  storm.  Some 
twenty  vessels  on  that  fatal  day  parted  with  their 
anchor  and  made  shipwreck  ;  whilst  the  anchor 
forged  by  my  friend  bore  triumphantly  all  the  stress 
of  the  terrible  tempest.  Thus  the  Apostle  gloried 
in  the  firmness  and  victory  of  the  much-tried 
Thessalonians.     The  anchor  held. 

One  of  the  actors  in  the  French  Revolution,  who 
was  asked  what  he  did  during  several  awful  weeks  of 
peril,  replied,  "  I  lived."  Sometimes  it  is  just  enough 
to  live.  Let  us  hold  confidently  by  the  great  truths, 
promises,  and  hopes  of  our  faith,  and  they  will  not 
fail  us  in  the  great  crises  of  life  and  death. 


70 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  11 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  cxix.  97-104 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"0  how  I  love  Thy  law  I  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day." — 
Ps.  cxix.  97 

THE  scientist  is  a  lover  of  law:  the  order  of 
Nature  fills  him  with  delight.  The  artist  is  a 
lover  of  law ;  the  principles  of  matter  duly  observed 
secure  beauty  and  joy.  The  noble  citizen  is  a  lover 
of  law ;  social  order  guarantees  the  wealth  and  pro- 
gress of  nations. 

Just  as  the  laws  of  Nature  mean  beauty,  music, 
life ;  so  the  higher  laws  of  the  Spirit  fill  the  soul  with 
the  sense  of  harmony,  elevation,  delightsomeness. 
To  rejoice  in  the  pure  and  majestic  ordinances  of 
love  and  righteousness  is  great  indeed.  "  Believe  it, 
my  good  friend,  to  love  truth  for  truth's  sake  is  the 
principal  part  of  human  perfection,  in  this  world, 
and  the  seed-plot  of  all  other  virtues,"  wrote  Locke 
to  Collins. 

Here  is,  too,  the  realm  of  freedom.  Everything  in 
Nature  is  necessitated,  but  the  realm  of  the  Spirit  is 
the  realm  of  liberty.  Let  me,  then,  prove  my  power 
and  liberty  by  setting  the  will  of  God  above  my  own, 
and  lovingly  and  adoringly  keep  His  commandments. 


71 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  12 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  cxIx.  105-117 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Thy  Word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet  and  a  light  unto  my  path." 
— Ps.  cxix.  105 

THE  Society  of  Illuminating  Engineers  and 
others  too  have  long  sought  for  a  light  which 
would,  by  excluding  the  ultra-violet  rays,  become 
fog-penetrating.  An  inventor  has  just  made  the 
desired  discovery,  and  produced  an  electric  lamp 
which  can  penetrate  the  densest  fog.  The  Bible  in 
the  world  of  the  soul  is  such  a  lamp.  It  is  effective 
alike  by  what  it  includes  and  excludes.  The  sincere, 
prayerful  student  of  the  sacred  page  will  find  his  way 
through  black  and  blinding  illusions  and  delusions. 

Let  me  use  it  as  "  a  lamp  to  my/eei"  for  practical, 
personal  uses.  Not  as  a  Chinese  lantern,  engaging 
the  fancy  by  virtue  of  its  artistry  and  imagery ;  but 
as  a  signal  lamp  on  the  railway,  a  Davy  lamp  in  the 
mine,  an  electric  lamp  in  the  fog. 

And  the  more  we  apply  the  sacred  truths  to  action 
and  experience  the  more  precious  and  luminous  do 
they  become.  "  The  man  who  insists  upon  seeing 
with  perfect  clearness  before  he  acts,  never  acts," 
writes  Amiel ;  but,  bringing  the  statutes,  command- 
ments, and  promises  to  bear  on  life,  they  become 
ever  clearer,  and  more  fully  evince  their  divinity. 


72 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  13 

Scripture  Reading— Jer.  x.  i-i6 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  Lord  is  the  true  God,  He  is  the  living  Got/."— Jer.  x.  io 

"  ''  \  ^HE  Lord  is  the  true  God,  He  is  the  living 
X  God " ;  this  is  the  glory  of  our  faith,  the 
strength  of  our  life. 

Probably  the  only  idol  factory  in  the  world  is  now 
located  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  the  idols  of  all 
countries  are  reproduced  and  new  ones  manufactured, 
some  from  models  and  some  through  the  inventive 
genius  and  fertile  brain  of  a  designer.  They  are 
made  in  plaster,  in  aluminium  and  bronze,  largely; 
but  some  are  carved  in  ivory,  while  iron,  brass,  and 
other  metals  and  materials  are  occasionally  used. 

In  Christendom  idols  of  this  order  are  not  called 
for,  but  their  analogies  are  close  and  numerous. 
Fashion  has  its  plaster  gods,  painted,  oiled,  and 
polished  ;  wealth,  its  golden  images  and  silver  chains  ; 
art,  its  ivory  divinities ;  sensuality,  its  gross  fetishes ; 
formal  religion,  its  icons.  Yes ;  God's  eye  discerns 
in  Christendom  vast  chambers  of  imagery,  a  whole 
Pantheon  of  unholy  gods. 

Let  me  not  coarsen,  defile,  and  destroy  my  nobler 
self  at  the  shrine  of  any  idol.  Let  my  eye  be  so  full 
of  the  true  and  living  God,  that  I  can  see  no  other. 


73 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  14 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Cor.  v.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"God  is  a  Spirit"— Jona  iv.  24 

THAT  God  is  Spirit  is  a  great  truth  touching 
the  interpretation  of  our  human  nature.  As 
Dr.  Macmillan  writes,  "  It  is  a  sublime  conception 
that  a  Personality  is  seated  on  the  throne  of  universal 
empire.  How  much  more  ennobling  is  this  concep- 
tion than  that  of  the  material  origin  and  existence  of 
all  things  !  We  must  postulate  Spirit  and  not  a  thing 
as  the  first  formative  cause.  The  universe  is  not 
self-created  and  self-upheld.  A  thing  cannot  originate 
a  thing." 

"God  is  Spirit."  "We  are  His  offspring."  Made 
in  the  image  of  His  spirituality,  holiness,  infinity, 
what  manner  of  men  ought  we  to  be ! 

That  God  is  Spirit  is  a  great  truth  concerning  our 
future.  We  are  made  in  the  image  of  His  incor- 
ruptibility and  immortality.  The  spirituality  of  our 
nature  suggests  great  things  for  the  future.  "Now 
are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be."  God  hath  given  us  "  the  earnest 
of  the  Spirit." 


74 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  15 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Cor.  vi.  i- 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong." — 2  Cor.  xil  10 

JESUS  CHRIST  has  been  called  "The  Great  Mis- 
understood," and  His  Apostle  shared  with  Him 
this  affliction.  It  was  another  mark  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  that  St.  Paul  bore. 

It  is  rather  a  common  thing  that  ordinary  men  fail 
to  discern  and  appreciate  rare  excellence.  St.  Paul 
suffered  here.  His  greatness,  resignation,  and  dis- 
interestedness were  not  understood,  were  misunder- 
stood, and  he  suffered  greatly  in  consequence. 

Is  it  possible  that  we  have  to  pay  the  penalty  of 
superiority  ?  That  our  comrades  and  neighbours  fail 
to  understand  the  purity  of  our  motives,  the  strength 
of  our  principles,  the  warmth  of  our  love?  The  best 
servants  of  Jesus  Christ  are  often  cut  to  the  heart  by 
mean  misinterpretation. 

If  this  should  come  into  our  life,  let  it  drive  us 
closer  to  Him  who  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men 
because  of  His  supreme  beauty,  His  unaccountable 
love,  His  infinite  sacrifice. 


75 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  16 

Scripture  Reading— i  Cor.  iv.  1-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"It  is  required  in  stewarda  that  a  man  be  found  faithful."— 
I  Cor.  iv.  2 

BEFORE  some  spectacles  silence  is  most 
becoming.  They  are  so  grand,  beautiful, 
precious,  that  eloquence  seems  profane.  Is  it  not  so 
here? 

It  is  inspiring  to  know  that  poor  human  nature  can 
be  raised  to  this  height  of  nobleness.  Patriotism, 
science,  and  commerce  boast  their  martyrs,  but  surely 
the  crowning  consecration  is  in  this  Apostle  who  was 
so  rich  in  the  spirit  of  his  redeeming  Master.  I  might 
be  crushed  by  this  immense  superiority,  but  let  me 
rather  be  aroused  and  inspired  by  it.  This  wonder- 
ful portrait  is  not  designed  to  paralyse,  but  to 
stimulate. 

We  can  never  hope  to  match  the  extraordinary 
intellectual  achievements  of  the  Apostle,  or  to  achieve 
such  a  vast  field  of  service,  but  we  may  share  with 
him  his  pure,  burning  zeal.  His  master  is  ours. 
The  grace  which  ennobled  him  may  be  magnified  in 
us.  He  fully  understood  this.  May  we  apprehend 
it 


76 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  17 

Scripture  Reading— Jkr.  I. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  am  with  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  to  deliver  thee." — Jer.  I  8 

"  T  AM  with  thee,  saith  the  Lord."  Napoleon  was 
J^  fond  of  referring  to  his  "star,"  but  He  who 
marshals  the  stars  is  the  strength  of  His  messengers. 
Nothing  but  this  fact  can  account  for  the  triumphs 
of  the  Gospel  in  the  primitive  age.  It  is  madness  to 
deny  the  supernatural.  Men  can  do  wonderful 
things,  but  their  limitations  are  obvious  enough. 
Stephenson  could  construct  a  railway,  but  he  could 
not  prepare  a  path  for  the  march  of  the  stars. 
Lesseps  might  dig  a  canal,  but  he  could  not  tackle 
an  Atlantic  or  Pacific.  The  triumph  of  Christianity 
is  as  manifestly  the  direct  work  of  God. 

God  does  not  grant  the  necessary  grace  before  the 
trial.  He  builds  the  bridge  when  we  reach  the  river. 
We  often  fear  that  we  shall  sink  under  the  fiery  trials 
that  we  see  others  endure ;  we  are  afraid  in  the  dis- 
tance of  the  mystery  and  anguish  of  death  ;  but  we 
have  not  yet  reached  these  crises,  and  grace  is  not 
vouchsafed  before  it  is  needed.  "  Jesus  comes  with 
our  distress." 


77 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  18 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  xii.  10-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Be  not  overcome  of  euil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good"—'RoM. 
xii.  21 

COULD  more  beautiful  things  be  crowded  into 
fewer  words?  We  think  not.  Every  clause 
is  a  big,  sweet  flower.  Or,  to  change  the  image,  we 
have  here  a  rare  piece  of  music,  every  note  majestic, 
lovely,  or  tender. 

And  this  catalogue  of  graces  is  not  to  be  divided 
among  the  many  members  ^of  a  Church  for  one  to 
cultivate  this  excellence  and  another  that ;  but  each 
member  is  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  in  all  things. 
As  life  and  circumstances  perpetually  change,  we  are 
to  display  in  sweet  and  unbroken  succession  the 
whole  range  of  the  variegated  glories  of  Christian 
perfection,  each  trait  in  its  season. 

The  garden,  however,  finds  no  difficulty  in  pro- 
ducing a  thousand  flowers  of  various  forms,  colours, 
and  perfumes  ;  the  sun  and  shower  easily  make  a 
paradise  of  it.  So  the  vital  influences  of  truth  and 
grace  acting  on  the  good  soil  of  an  honest  heart  will 
in  turn  evoke  every  noble  temper  and  deed. 


78 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  19 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xviii.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Pray  without  ceasing." — i  Thess.  v.  17 

"  IX    /T  EN  ou£;-/i^  ahvays  to  pray."     The  obligation 

_[  y  J^      of  persistent  prayer. 

If  a.j2idge  grants  the  importunate  request  what  will 
not  a  father  do?  "Your  Heavenly  Father  knoweth 
that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things."  "  How  much 
more  shall  your  Heavenly  Father  give?" 

If  an  unrighteous  judge  is  mastered  by  importunity, 
how  much  more  hope  in  appealing  to  the  righteous 
One !     "  God  is  not  unrighteous  that  He  will  forget." 

If  a  hard,  reluctant  judge,  who  "  regarded  not  man," 
is  conquered  by  obstinacy  of  supplication,  what  may 
we  not  expect  from  the  sympathetic  Friend  whose 
mercy  is  not  strained,  but  which  droppeth  as  the 
gentle  rain  from  heaven — from  Him  who  waiteth  to 
bless  ?  There  is  a  three-fold  contrast,  each  one 
emphasising  the  efficacy  of  persevering  prayer. 

*'  Speak  to  Him,  then,  for  He  hears, 
And  spirit  with  spirit  may  meet ; 
Closer  is  He  than  breathing, 
And  nearer  than  hands  and  feet." 


79 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  20 

Scripture  Reading— Matt,  xxvii.  11-26 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"God  will  redeem  my  soul  from  the  power  of  the  grave."— Ts. 
xlix.  15 

NOWHERE  else  is  the  question  of  death  dealt 
with  as  in  the  New  Testament.  By  various 
cunning  devices  we  seek  to  hide  from  ourselves  the 
painful  aspects  of  our  mortality,  or  to  reconcile  our- 
selves to  the  inevitable,  but  the  serious  problem  is 
seriously  dealt  with  only  by  Him  who  is  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  life. 

When  Jesus  entered  the  chamber  of  death  He  put 
forth  the  flute-players  and  the  babbling  crowd.  It 
was  a  parable  of  what  He  has  done  on  a  vaster  scale. 
He  has  dismissed  from  the  death  chamber  the  philo- 
sophers with  their  guesses,  the  sceptics  with  their 
everlasting  farewells,  the  sentimentalists  with  the 
chaff  well-meant  for  grain,  the  flute-players  of  poetry 
and  music,  who  by  melodious  words  and  strains  seek 
to  disguise  the  tragic  fact,  and  shown  us  how  death  is 
a  sleep  with  a  golden  awakening. 

The  Living  One,  with  His  majesty,  love,  and 
promise,  is  the  "strong  consolation"  of  the  dying 
saint. 


80 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  21 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  ix.  i-io  and  xv.  16-32 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  was  transfigured  before  them." — Mark  ix.  2 

WHAT  possibilities  of  glory  there  are  in  human 
nature !  Scientists  perceive  in  us  un- 
developed senses,  and  anticipate  a  period  when  man 
will  possess  qualities,  perceptions,  and  powers  far 
exceeding  any  attributes  of  the  present. 

It  is  in  Christ  Jesus  that  the  latent  glory  of  our 
nature  stands  most  fully  and  conspicuously  declared. 
In  Him  we  see  what  man  is  in  the  Divine  ideal.  He 
has  shown  of  what  our  moral  nature  is  capable;  in 
Him  we  behold  the  transfigured  conscience,  will, 
affections,  character.  He  has  shown  of  what  this 
physical  vesture  is  capable  in  exaltation,  refinement, 
and  splendour. 

They  "  spake  of  His  decease."  Through  His 
death  He  attained  His  mediatorial  glory  and  secured 
to  us  eternal  life.  Sin  eclipsed  our  glory ;  and  the 
Cross,  taking  away  sin,  has  unmasked  the  hidden 
beauty,  strength,  and  effulgence.  We  need  not  fear 
death.  Christ  transfigures  the  shroud  into  shining 
raiment  that  waxes  not  old.     Let  me  only  fear  sin. 


81 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  22 

Scripture  Reading— i  Cor.  xv.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"For  I  know  whom  I  have  believed." — 2  Tim.  i.12 

HALL  CAINE  tells  us  that  Rossetti  was  not  an 
atheist,  but  simply  one  with  a  suspended 
judgment;  in  face  of  death  his  attitude  was  one  of 
waiting,  he  did  not  know. 

Now  the  great  work  of  Jesus  Christ  touching  the 
doctrine  of  immortality  was  to  convert  it  from  a 
speculation  into  a  certainty.  The  evidence  for  His 
resurrection,  which  carries  with  it  the  doctrine  of  our 
incorruptibility  and  immortality,  is  overwhelming  ;  as 
one  has  said,  it  is  the  best  authenticated  fact  in 
history. 

The  Christian  is  one  who  knoivs.  The  Spirit  of 
God  has  so  opened  up  to  our  consciousness  the  truth 
of  Christ's  teaching,  the  fact  of  His  resurrection,  that 
we  are  satisfied  of  our  continued  and  permanent 
existence  as  we  are  that  we  exist  at  all.  The  nearer 
we  live  to  Christ,  the  more  deeply  we  drink  into  His 
Spirit,  the  more  the  assurance  of  eternal  life  grows 
upon  us. 


82 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  23 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading — i  Cor.  xv.  12-28 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Now  is  Christ  risen  from  tiie  dead,  and  become  the  first  fruits 
of  tliem  that  slept." — i  Cor.  xv.  20 

OUR  Lord  has  demonstrated  the  harmlessness  of 
death,  the  powerlessness  of  the  grave.  To 
the  natural  eye  death  effaces  all  our  beauty,  and  the 
grave  is  the  last  humiliation  in  which  our  strength 
and  glory  finally  disappear.  The  empty  grave  of  our 
Lord  delivers  us  from  the  dominion  of  our  senses, 
and  convinces  us  that  on  our  real  selves  death  has  no 
power. 

The  story  is  told  that  a  chamber  in  a  certain 
dwelling  was  reputed  to  be  haunted,  and  the  family 
regarded  it  with  terror.  But  one  night  the  father 
determined  to  sleep  in  it  himself,  and,  coming  forth 
the  next  morning  all  safe  and  sound,  laughed  away 
the  fears  of  his  children.  So  our  Lord  entered  the 
grave,  and  dwelt  among  the  dead ;  but  in  the 
morning  He  issued  forth  crying  to  His  affrighted 
ones,  "  All  hail ! "  and  the  gloomy  chamber  is  divested 
of  its  terror. 


83 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  24 

Scripture  Reading— Eph.  iil. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  boiv  my  hnees  unto  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of 
whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named."— Evu. 
iii.  14,  15 

IT  is  a  good  thing  to  take  a  large  view,  and  we 
have  one  here.  The  word  "  agoraphobia "  is 
used  to  designate  a  remarkable  type  of  disease  that 
manifests  itself  in  a  /ear  of  open  space^  which  is  the 
literal  meaning  of  the  term.  Persons  suffering  from 
this  illness  experience  it  whenever  their  gaze  is 
directed  to  some  considerable  expanse  of  open  space. 

Many  are  afflicted  with  this  malady  in  their  mind, 
and  dare  look  at  nothing  but  the  cramped  spaces  of 
this  mortal  life. 

How  vast  the  outlook  of  the  Apostle !  How  un- 
utterably grand  and  inspiring !  "  The  Father ! " 
"  Every  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth,"  divinely 
named  and  gathered  together  in  Christ !  The  saints 
raised  to  a  sublime  perfection  in  love,  knowledge, 
and  felicity !  Glory  revealed  in  the  Church  through- 
out all  generations.  How  far-reaching,  profound, 
and  magnificent  are  the  thoughts  that  the  faith  of 
Jesus  Christ  brings  into  human  life  !  And  I  have  a 
personal  interest  in  all  this ! 


84 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  25 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  xliv.  6-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  am  the  first  and  I  am  the  last,  and  beside  me  there  is  no 
God."— ISA.  xliv.  6 

IN  this  last  dispensation  everything  connected 
with  rehgion  has  been  spiritualised.  The  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  shows  how  the  material  has  been 
replaced  by  the  spiritual  idea  in  all  that  concerns 
faith  and  worship.  At  the  same  time  the  devil  has 
spiritualised  the  pantheon  of  idols. 

"  Shakespeare  is  my  god,"  said  a  great  German  to 
George  Eliot.  Literature  is  the  god  of  many.  "  Eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry."  Appetite  and  pleasure  are 
popular  idols.  "  I  will  pull  down  my  barns  and  build 
greater."     Goods  become  a  god. 

Exclaimed  Marie  Bashkirtseff,  "  It  is  two  o'clock ; 
it  is  the  new  year.  At  the  theatre,  precisely  at  mid- 
night, watch  in  hand  I  wished  my  wish  in  a  single 
word,  intoxicating,  whether  it  be  written  or  spoken — 
Fame."  Honour  and  renown  are  the  twin  gods  of 
multitudes. 

An  idol  is  whatever  takes  the  thought,  love,  admira- 
tion, and  service  which  ought  to  be  centred  on  the 
living  God. 


85 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  26 

Scripture  Reading — i  Cor.  xvi. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"God  loueth  a  cheerful  giver." — 2  Cor.  ix.  7 

IT  has  often  been  objected  that  the  collection 
should  follow  the  sermon  "  because  it  spoils  the 
fine  spiritual  tone  of  the  service."  But  the  Apostle 
did  not  feel  this.  He  passes  abruptly  from  the 
glorious  theme  of  the  resurrection  to  the  matter  of 
finance.  He  felt  that  there  was  no  anomaly  in  so 
doing. 

Let  us  give  to  our  Lord  our  best,  just  as  the  natives 
in  South  America  are  said,  when  they  find  a  rare 
orchid,  to  plant  it  on  the  church  roof  or  in  its  precincts. 
And  let  us  contribute  in  the  best  way,  making  our 
gift  as  free  and  graceful  as  love  and  prudence  united 
can  effect.  When  we  present  lovely  flowers  to  any- 
one, we  so  arrange  them  that  their  disposition  adds  to 
their  beauty. 

There  is  nothing  merely  material  and  commercial 
to  a  truly  spiritual  man  ;  his  money  contributions  are 
spiritual  and  sacramental.  Of  such  gold  are  the 
walls  of  the  New  Jerusalem  fashioned. 


86 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  27 

Scripture  Reading — James  ii.  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Thou  shalt  hue  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." — James  ii.  8 

THE  whole  of  this  passage  turns  on  the  first 
verse :  "  Hold  not  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Lord  of  glory,  with  respect  of  persons." 
In  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  not  only  see  the  glory 
of  God,  but  also  the  glory  of  man,  and  henceforth 
must  judge  humanity  in  the  light  of  the  Incarnation, 
the  Cross,  and  of  that  heavenly  universe  of  which 
Christ  has  taken  possession  in  our  name ! 

Scholarship  teaches  that  the  word  which  James 
uses  for  "  respect  of  persons  "  means  to  "  take  the 
outside  surface  for  the  reality,  the  mask  for  the  man." 
How  apt  we  are  to  do  this;  to  judge  by  the  ring  and 
the  clothing,  instead  of  looking  to  the  essential 
qualities  and  destiny ! 

By  taking  our  nature,  the  Lord  has  shown  that 
whatever  a  man  wears  on  his  skin,  he  wears  scarlet 
on  his  soul ;  we  must  therefore  treat  all  with  courtesy, 
justice,  and  love.  We  are  all  royal,  and  must  deal 
with  each  other  according  to  the  royal  law. 


87 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  28 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xxii.  34-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind."— Matt.  xxii.  37 

GEORGE  MATHESON  asks  in  his  Landmarks 
of  New  Testament  Morality :  "In  what  order  is 
the  love  of  God  to  come  ?  Is  it  to  precede,  or  is  it  to 
follow,  the  love  of  our  neighbour  ?  To  that  question 
Platonism  and  Christianity  both  give  an  unequivocal 
answer ;  but  the  answer  of  Platonism  is  not  the 
answer  of  Christianity.  Platonism  says:  Love  God 
before  all  other  things;  begin  at  the  head  of  the 
ladder,  and  then  descend  as  far  as  you  can  descend 
without  losing  sight  of  the  Divine  Idea.  Christianity, 
on  the  other  hand,  says  :  Begin  with  the  love  of  men ; 
start  from  the  foot,  and  not  from  the  top  of  the 
ladder  ;  enter  first  into  communion  with  the  heart  of 
your  brother,  and  ascend  thence  into  fellowship  with 
the  heart  of  God." 

We  emphatically  believe  that  this  view  is  wrong. 
We  do  not  climb  from  the  love  of  our  neighbour 
to  the  love  of  God.  As  we  know  the  love  of  God 
we  get  the  secret  of  human  love.  "  Glory  to  God 
in  the  highest "  comes  first ;  then  peace  and  goodwill 
among  men.     A  vital  point. 


88 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  29 

Scripture  Reading— John  xv.  1-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"This  is  My  commandment,  that  ye  loue  one  another,  even  as  I 
have  loved  you." — John  xv.  12 

'"TT^HIS  is  My  commandment,  that  ye  love  one 
J^  another,  even  as  I  have  loved  you."  Some 
complain  that  there  is  little  originality  in  Christian 
teaching.  Here,  then,  is  something  original — a  new 
standard. 

^^  Even  as  I  have  loved  you."  This  makes  the 
second  commandment  new  by  the  fresh  thought  and 
power  put  into  it.  Christ  loved  His  disciples  before 
they  loved  Him  ;  He  continued  to  love  them  when 
they  were  unlovely — with  small  jealousies,  ambitions, 
and  conceits ;  He  still  bore  with  them  in  their  angry, 
impatient,  and  unbelieving  moods ;  He  did  not  cease 
to  love  them  when  they  all  forsook  Him  and  fled. 

Our  Lord  shows  us  what  love  means ;  what  it  will 
suffer ;  what  it  will  give ;  what  it  will  do.  Hitherto 
it  had  been  much  of  an  abstraction ;  in  Him  it  took 
shape,  and  we  saw  its  majesty  and  beauty. 

Ruskin  writes :  "  The  best  things  are  seldomest 
seen  in  their  best  form."  The  best  thing,  the  greatest 
thing  in  the  world,  was  seen  in  its  best  form  only  once 
in  Him  who  is  our  standard  and  pattern. 


89 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  30 

Scripture  Reading — Col.  i.  21-29 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"As  ye  have  therefore  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk 
ye  in  Him." — Col.  ii.  6 

IN  Christ  are  the  grandest  transformations,  gifts, 
felicities,  and  hopes.  Corot  said  that  he  would 
have  liked  to  paint  the  walls  of  prison  cells,  so  that 
the  prisoners  might  have  been  refreshed  and  purified 
by  the  glories  of  landscape ;  but  Paul  needed  no  such 
works  of  art  to  relieve  his  imprisonment.  How  these 
few  verses  absolutely  teem  with  the  wealth  of  grace 
and  the  splendours  of  hope  ! 

And  these  treasures  and  splendours  are  for  all. 
"  Every  man  perfect  in  Christ."  The  Apostle  was  an 
absolute  democrat  in  the  highest  things. 

A  legend  of  the  Jews  relates  that  the  prophet 
Ezekiel  once  raised  a  number  of  his  countrymen  from 
the  dead ;  but  the  miracle  was  so  far  defective  that 
the  resuscitated  ever  after  retained  somewhat  of  the 
complexion  of  corpses,  and  their  garments  a  certain 
scent  of  the  sepulchre.  Not  thus  does  Christ  raise 
us  from  the  death  of  sin.  "  To  present  you  holy  and 
without  blemish  and  unreprovable  before  Him." 
Perfect,  and  every  man  perfect 


90 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


March  31 

Scripture  Reading — Col.  ii.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily."— Cau 
ii.  9 

THE  sufficiency  of  Christ  is  one  great  thought  here. 
He  is  the  secret  of  God  ;  in  Him  is  disclosed 
the  completeness  of  light  and  grace,  love  and  power. 
The  fulness  of  spiritual  blessing  is  assured  in  Him. 
Away  from  Him  are  gleams,  wells,  fragments  of 
heavenly  wisdom  and  blessing;  in  Him  is  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily. 

They  who  knew  Him  not  had  the  cup,  we  the  sea ; 
they  saw  the  heavens  through  a  skylight,  we  walk  in 
the  noonday ;  divine  truth  and  beauty  appeared  to 
them  in  a  flowerpot,  we  possess  the  summer  land- 
scape.    Forget  not  your  mighty  privilege  ! 

"And  in  Him  ye  are  made  full."  Let  nothing 
come  between  you  and  your  Lord,  is  another  great 
thought  here.  Let  no  philosophy,  no  ecclesiasticism, 
and,  for  that  matter,  no  theology,  come  between  you 
and  the  living  Lord !  Deal  with  Him  at  first  hand. 
Be  one  with  Him.  Be  rooted  in  Him,  as  the  tree  in 
the  soil,  and  you  shall  abound  in  fruits  of  light;  build 
on  Him,  as  the  lighthouse  on  the  rock,  and  you  shall 
never  fall. 


91 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  1 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading— Acts  xxi.  1-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"I  am  ready  not  to  be  bound  only,  but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem 
for  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus." — Acts  xxi.  13 

THE  progress  of  the  Apostle  is  beset  by  trial. 
"  They  that  sow  in  tears."  How  much  the 
great  evangelist  knew  of  this  experience !  Much  of 
the  Christian  life  partakes  of  the  nature  of  conflict, 
and  this  is  equally  true  of  the  working  part — the  trowel 
in  one  hand,  the  sword  in  the  other. 

We  should  not  object  to  the  sowing  if  the  task 
were  that  of  the  dainty  sowing  of  seeds  and  planting 
of  bulbs  in  a  summer's  garden.  It  is  quite  interest- 
ing and  delightful  on  a  spring  morning  to  sprinkle 
the  mould  with  a  few  selected  seeds. 

When  evangelical  work  resembles  this  playfulness 
we  are  not  indisposed  to  it ;  but  to  put  our  hand  to 
the  plough  and  break  up  the  waste ;  to  toil  in  the 
vineyard,  bearing  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day ;  to 
cast  our  bread  on  the  waters  whilst  we  mingle  them 
with  our  tears,  this  kind  means  sacrifice,  and  we  too 
often  shirk  it. 

Yet,  really,  sowing  generally  is  of  little  moment 
until  it  is  sowing  in  tears. 


92 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  2 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  xi.  22-30 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"In  quietness  and  in  confidence  shall  be  your  strength. " — Isa. 
XXX.  15 

THE  union  of  spiritual  fervour  and  practical 
charity  is  well  illustrated  in  this  reading. 
The  Orientals  have  a  saying,  "  All  is  vanity  which 
is  not  bread "  ;  and  here  the  disciples  are  active  in 
the  distribution  of  the  heavenly  bread  and  the  bread 
that  perisheth. 

The  reproach  that  the  faith  of  Christ  concerns 
itself  with  spiritual  enthusiasms  and  forgets  earthly 
needs  is  the  emptiest  of  sarcasms.  There  was  little 
of  philanthropy  before  Christ  came  ;  but  such  is  the 
example  and  inspiration  of  His  mighty  love  that  ever 
since  He  came  sacrifice  for  the  humble  and  needy 
has  become  a  commonplace  in  the  circle  of  His 
followers. 

We  remember  reading  that  when  the  alms  box  of 
the  Samaritan  Fund  of  St.  George's  Hospital  was 
opened  at  Tattersall's,  after  an  interim  of  twelve 
months,  not  a  single  farthing  was  found  in  it. 

We  must  go  elsewhere  than  to  racing  circles,  and 
such-like,  for  sympathy  with  those  ready  to  perish. 


93 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  3 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  vi.  27-38 

Thought  for  the  Day 

'Ms  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you  do  ye  also  to  them." 
— LuKEvi.  31 

THE  world  had  said,  "Blessed  are  the  great,  the 
rich,  the  strong,  the  famous."  And  the  world 
says  so  still. 

But  our  Lord  taught  us  another  and  far  deeper 
lesson :  that  the  satisfaction  of  life  lies  in  sincerity, 
humility,  patience,  surrender  of  the  will  to  God, 
kindness,  and  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice.  And  have 
we  not,  in  some  degree  at  least,  proved  the  truth  of 
His  philosophy  ?  Our  happy  hours  are  distinctly 
those  in  which  our  heart  has  leisure  from  itself,  in 
which  we  cease  from  self-will  to  sink  into  the  will 
Divine,  in  which  we  escape  from  our  vain  dreams,  and 
are  able  to  live  in  lowliness  and  love. 

Whilst  enjoying  all  the  good  gifts  of  God,  let  me 
not  forget  that  my  life  does  not,  that  it  cannot,  con- 
sist in  these.  I  must  launch  into  the  deep  of  thought, 
devotion,  experience,  and  service. 

Nothing  can  so  fill  the  soul  with  joy  as  the  sense 
of  the  Divine  favour. 


94 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  4 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xviii.  28-34 

Thought  for  the  Day 

'  Though  He  cause  grief  yet  will  He  have  compassion," — Lam. 
iii.  32 

RENUNCIATION  and  sacrifice  mean  manifold 
and  everlasting  enrichment.  The  Master 
endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  for  the  joy 
that  it  brought  Him ;  and  His  disciples  must 
prove  the  same  discipline  and  recompense. 

How  astonishingly  illuminated,  noble,  powerful, 
and  delightful  the  Apostle  Paul  became  in  that  life 
of  intense  and  continuous  trial  !  A  French  writer 
has  finely  said,  "  Great  sorrows  are  the  forcing-houses 
of  the  soul."  How  strangely,  and  often  suddenly, 
do  misfortunes  mature  character !  In  the  high 
temperature  of  affliction  and  grief  how  the  graces 
flower ;  how  the  branches  grafted  into  the  bleeding 
vine  bear  their  choicest  clusters. 

Austere  discipline  saves  us  from  conditions  that  we 
have  most  reason  to  fear.  As  Lacordaire  expresses 
it,  "  Suffering  is  better  than  decay."  And  sanctified 
loss  and  labour  may  bring  us  precious  fruits  not 
otherwise  ours. 


95 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  5 

Scripture  Reading — i  Cor.  ix.  19-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 

/  keep  under  my  body  and  bring  it  into  subjection." — i  Cor. 
ix.  27 

HE  self-denial  that  finds  its  reason  and  its 
object  in  considering  others  is  the  divinest 
form  of  self-sacrifice. 

We  think  sometimes  that  we  are  hardly  realising 
the  Christian  idea  of  self-sacrifice  because  our  back  is 
not  scourged  and  our  feet  bare,  because  we  keep  no 
fast  days  and  wear  no  hair  shirt.  Let  us  not  dis- 
tress ourselves.  So  to  live  that  we  may  help  and 
bless  those  around  us  will  often  involve  sufficient 
mortification,  and  in  its  best  form. 

To  endure  the  unreasonableness  of  some  is  to  wear 
a  hair  shirt ;  to  bear  patiently  their  tongue  is  to  be 
beaten  with  stripes ;  to  live  with  them  is  to  suffer 
martyrdom  in  a  slow  fire.  To  please  all  men  to 
their  edification  is  a  fine  form  of  martyrdom,  and  a 
severe  one.  It  will  tax  our  faith,  patience,  humility, 
and  perseverance  to  the  uttermost. 

The  "  daily  round  will  furnish  all  we  ought  to  ask," 
and  generally  all  we  shall  care  to  ask. 


96 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  6 

Scripture  Reading— i  Cor.  viiL 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  every  man  also  on 
the  things  of  others," — Phil,  ii.  4 

WHEN  we  are  disposed  to  resent  the  claim  of 
our  neighbour  to  sympathy  and  considera- 
tion, will  it  not  be  well  to  think  how  often  be  has 
suffered  through  our  fault !  The  consequences  of 
our  ignorance,  foolishness,  and  sin  are  hardly,  if  ever, 
confined  to  ourselves ;  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
we  affect  society  injuriously.  Let  me  then  be  willing 
to  make  reparation  for  the  wrong  I  have  done  my 
fellows,  by  bearing  their  sicknesses  and  dealing 
tenderly  with  their  prejudices  and  frailties.  I  owe  it 
to  them. 

We  once  knew  a  poor  old  man  who  trudged  miles 
to  repair  the  country  stiles  that  they  might  be  a  little 
easier  for  the  aged  and  infirm.  The  people  voted 
him  a  lunatic,  but  in  the  Great  Day  he  will  outshine 
Napoleon. 

To  take  a  stumbling-block  out  of  our  brother's 
way,  and  to  help  the  cripple  over  the  stile,  is  to  reveal 
the  mind  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus. 


97 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  7 

Scripture  Reading — i  Pet.  v.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

" Humble  yourselves  therefore  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God." 
— I  Pet.  v.  6 

A  SCEPTICAL  writer  speaks  of  humility  as  "a 
monkish  virtue "  which  it  is  not  well  for  the 
manly  to  cultivate ;  and  it  is  quite  the  fashion  in 
some  quarters  to  reproach  the  lowly  spirit  enjoined 
by  Christ  as  being  cowardly  and  servile. 

Yet  we  instinctively  reverence  the  humble,  we  at 
once  know  modesty  as  a  great  quality.  What  a 
singular  serene  joy  attends  its  exercise !  There  is 
not  a  more  delicate  and  delicious  sensation  than  that 
which  accompanies  an  act  of  genuine  humility. 
What  power  it  hides !  It  implies  quiet,  assured, 
treasured  strength.  How  safe  it  is !  Inviting  no 
disasters. 

Jesus  Christ  came  to  teach  us  this  grace  because 
it  is  of  the  essence  of  perfection.  He  best  asserts  his 
greatness  who  humbles  himself  before  God,  as  the 
seraphim  veil  their  face  with  the  wings  on  which  they 
soar. 


98 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  8 

Scripture  Reading — Titus  ii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We  should  Hue  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present 
world." — Titus  ii.  12 

WE  are  to  "adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our 
Saviour  in  all  things  " ;  and  we  may  observe 
that  this  instruction  is  given  to  servants.  The 
grandeur  and  loveliness  of  the  Christian  doctrine  can 
be  shown  in  the  humblest  people  and  in  the  homeliest 
things.  It  is  not  only  kings,  bishops,  and  statesmen 
who  may  manifest  its  power  and  beauty,  but  also 
manservants  and  maidservants ;  it  may  not  only  be 
illustrated  advantageously  in  the  grand  affairs  of 
empire,  but  in  the  meanest  task  of  labour. 

Milet,  the  great  painter,  taught  that  it  was  the 
business  of  art  "  to  make  use  of  the  trivial  to  express 
the  sublime."  It  is  certainly  the  duty  and  privilege 
of  the  saint  so  to  handle  the  trivial  as  to  express  the 
sublime  doctrines  and  principles  of  his  holy  faith. 

I  do  not  need  a  big  sphere,  or  big  interests,  to 
show  men  what  a  noble  faith  is  that  of  a  Christian. 


99 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  9 

Scripture  Reading— Eph.  vi.  1-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"As  the  servants  of  Christ,  doing  the  will  of  God  from  the 
heart." — Eph.  vi.  6 

REALLY  the  love  of  Christ  turns  life  into  a 
concert  of  sweet  relations.  Fathers,  mothers, 
children,  harmonised  by  love,  and  all  things  in  the 
household,  moving  as  to  the  measures  of  stately 
music. 

What  a  grand  thing  true  godliness  is  in  the  house- 
hold !  Religion  never  enters  a  cottage  without 
making  it  a  palace.  Ah  !  far  more  than  most  palaces. 
A  sanctuary  of  peace,  love,  and  blessing. 

And  all  that  the  business  world  needs  is  that  Christ 
should  be  recognised  as  the  common  Master.  If  all 
men  would  so  live  as  to  please  Him,  they  would  be 
surprised  to  find  how  nearly  they  pleased  one 
another. 

What  is  needed  to  solve  all  problems  of  domesticity, 
of  politics,  of  capital  and  labour,  is  higher  character. 
Christian  character,  and  they  will  never  be  solved 
without.  It  is  a  mistake  indeed  to  think  that  religion 
ignores  earth.  Heaven  supplies  the  motive  that  sets 
risht  the  terrestrial. 


100 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  10 

Scripture  Reading — Rev.  ii.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life." 
— Rev.  ii.  7 

THE  promise  is  consistently  "to  him  that  over- 
cometh." The  ideal  life  to  the  Greek  was  one 
of  serene  pleasantness ;  the  life  of  the  Christian  is 
ever  represented  as  a  strenuous  conflict  in  which  we 
must  strive  to  overcome. 

When  we  read  these  verses  we  feel  how  severe  and 
tragic  was  the  lot  of  the  primitive  Christians.  It  has 
been  objected  to  Rubens'  picture  of  the  Crucifixion, 
that  he  has  painted  Golgotha  like  a  garden  where 
you  can  hardly  see  the  skulls  for  the  flowers. 

It  might  seem  as  if  in  the  softening  processes  of 
the  ages  that  the  Christian  life  was  nothing  like  so 
stern  and  sorrowful  as  of  old  ;  that  many  flowers 
have  sprung  up  in  the  place  of  persecutions  and 
martyrdoms.  Yet  we  too  have  our  difficulties, 
temptations,  and  sorrows ;  often  as  much  as  we  can 
bear. 

Our  one  duty  is  to  overcome.  A  poet  of  scepticism 
boasts :  "  I  am  captain  of  my  soul."  If  Christ  is 
Captain,  I  am  also :  otherwise  defeat  is  inevitable. 


lOI 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  11 

Scripture  Reading— Phil.  iii.  1-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"What  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I  counted  loss  for 
Christ."— PniL.  iii.  7 

AS  to  the  sacrifices  we  may  be  called  upon  to 
make  for  Christ's  sake,  they  will  differ 
immensely.  They  will  necessarily  be  peculiar  and 
personal,  and  it  is  well  that  they  are  so.  Amongst 
the  Arabs  to-day  every  man  kills  his  sacrifice,  as  in 
the  ancient  world,  with  his  own  hands.  It  is  fitting 
that  our  renunciations  should  be  marked  by  some- 
thing peculiarly  our  own. 

"  Peter  began  to  say  unto  Him :  Lo,  we  have  left 
all  and  have  followed  Thee."  A  few  old  fishing  nets. 
How  infinitely  beyond  their  sordid  calculation  was 
the  spirit  of  Paul  in  the  text !  The  fact  is  that  in 
the  meantime  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had 
been  better  understood  ;  and  by  the  side  of  the 
sacrifice  of  Calvary  every  sacrifice  we  can  make  is 
light  indeed.  "  He  emptied  Himself,"  withheld 
nothing.     Here  is  our  motive  and  pattern. 

Christ  tells  us  to  "  count  the  cost  "  of  discipleship, 
but  He  never  asked  us  to  count  the  gain.  He  knew 
we  could  not;  there  is  no  arithmetic  to  compute 
thatc 


102 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  12 

Scripture  Reading — LuKExxi.  20-28 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"In  your  patience  possess  ye  your  souls." — Luke  xxi.  19 

T^T'HEREVER  the  flowers  of  the  North  are 
W  distributed  they  prevail;  they  establish 
themselves  in  all  climates,  driving  out  the  native 
flowers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  flowers  of  the  South 
cannot  establish  themselves  here.  The  explanation 
is  that  what  the  northern  blooms  have  endured  has 
made  them  robust  and  victorious. 

The  Christian  religion  is  one  of  endurance.  This 
was  first  and  pre-eminently  true  of  our  Lord.  The 
first  ages  of  the  Church  were  ages  of  martyrdom. 
Ever  since  then  the  Christian  faith  has  borne  the 
weight  of  opposition  and  trial.  As  the  glacial  period 
has  made  the  flowers  hardy,  so  the  discipline  of 
suffering  has  made  the  Church  of  Christ  the  very 
home  of  patience,  power,  heroism. 

In  this  power  of  patience  we  win  our  souls — we 
realise  ourselves,  save  ourselves  everlastingly.  We 
may  be  put  to  death,  but  not  a  hair  of  our  head  shall 
perish.  That  is,  not  a  jot  or  tittle  of  our  great  self 
shall  be  lost ;  every  jot  and  tittle  shall  be  secured 
and  glorified. 


103 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  13 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xxviL 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life;  of  whom  shall  I  be 
afraid?" — Ps.  xxvii,  i 

WE  speak  of  causeless  fear,  but  in  truth  all  fear 
touching-  wordly  things  is  causeless  to  one 
who  believes  in  God ;  that  is,  in  One  infinitely  wise, 
powerful,  and  good.  Causeless  apprehension  is  bad 
every  way.  It  is  bad,  as  it  tends  to  make  us  insen- 
sible to  real  danger. 

Fear  impairs  the  reason.  It  causes  us  to  act 
wildly,  irrationally.  Fear  spoils  our  joy  in  to-day 
by  anticipating  shadows  which  to-morrow  may  not 
cast.  Fear  saps  the  strength  and  courage  which  are 
so  necessary  when  trial  does  arrive.  Fear  has  a 
tendency  to  bring  upon  us  the  very  thing  we  dread. 
If  we  are  afraid  of  a  dog  it  bites  us. 

A  rationalistic  lady  recently  remarked  to  us  that 
Christian  people  in  actual  life  display  no  more  com- 
posure and  courage  than  purely  worldly  souls  do.  Is 
there  not  some  truth  in  this  charge?  We  do  not 
apply  our  theoretical  faith  to  practical  life.  "  The 
extent  to  which  we  have  put  fear  under  our  feet  is  a 
good  measure  of  manhood,"  writes  Carlyle.  It  is 
certainly  a  good  measure  of  Christian  manhood. 


104 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  14 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  xv.  14-29 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Now  the  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in 
believing." — Rom.  xv.  13 

THE  writers  of  the  New  Testament  know  how  to 
raise  vices  into  rare  virtues,  just  as  clever 
gardeners  convert  noxious  weeds  into  handsome 
flowers.  Paul  made  "guile"  lovely,  showed  how  we 
might  nobly  "provoke  one  another,"  taught  us  how 
to  "  covet  earnestly  "  and  yet  be  pure,  whilst  here  he 
puts  "  ambition  "  into  the  front  rank  of  the  graces. 

"  Being  ambitious  so  to  preach  the  Gospel."  Truly 
the  ambition  of  a  noble  mind  !  To  go  to  those 
beyond,  to  go  to  those  to  whom  no  one  else  had  gone, 
to  go  to  those  who  needed  him  most.  There  was  a 
big  piece  of  Columbus  in  St.  Paul ;  he  was  indeed  the 
Columbus  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Let  me  be  "  ambitious  "  to  do  good.  Not  making 
the  greater  show,  but  the  greater  sacrifice.  Not  that 
I  may  be  the  greater  in  station,  but  in  service.  Not 
that  I  may  be  most  famous,  but  most  useful.  Is 
there  not  some  special  line  of  usefulness  open  to 
me  ?  It  would  be  well  if  there  were  a  bit  of  Columbus 
in  me.  Some  neglected  work,  some  work  along  the 
line  of  my  gifts  calls  me. 


105 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  15 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  xli.  8-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Fear  thou  not,  for  I  am  with  thee ;  be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am 
thy  God." — Isa.  xli  10 

IN  the  recent  life  of  an  unbeliever  we  read  in  one 
of  his  letters :  "  Anxiety  is  a  poison,  and  I  do 
not  know  how  much  more  of  it  I  could  stand.  It 
was  a  friend's  treachery  that  broke  me  up  recently. 
...  I  don't  know  that  being  brave  would  serve  me 
much." 

But  a  Christian  ought  to  know  nothing  of  this. 
No  one  is  more  sensitive  than  a  saint,  alive  to  life's 
mutabilities  and  sorrows,  but  such  is  his  faith  in  the 
Divine  faithfulness  that  he  remains  calm  and  con- 
fident in  trying  hours.  Anxiety  is  a  poison,  a  poison 
destroying  thousands  to-day.  It  works  in  the  days 
of  prosperity  as  well  as  in  misfortune,  embittering  all 
life. 

An  atheist  ought  to  be  anxious ;  a  believer  in  a 
faithful  Creator  and  gracious  Redeemer  ought  not  to 
have  a  care  in  his  heart,  a  tear  in  his  eye,  a  murmur 
on  his  lip. 


T06 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  16 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Cor.  v.  11-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us." — 2  Cor.  v.  14 

HOW  much  inspiration  and  strength  do  we  owe 
to  this  heavenly  hope  The  naturalist  tells 
us  that  in  the  forests  of  Nicaragua  the  ground  is 
sometimes  carpeted  with  large  flowers  that  have 
fallen  from  some  invisible  tree-top  above  ;  or  the  air 
is  filled  with  a  delicious  perfume,  for  the  source  of 
which  one  seeks  around  in  vain,  for  the  flowers  that 
cause  it  are  far  overhead  out  of  sight,  lost  in  the  great 
overshadowing  crown  of  verdure. 

How  much  sweetness  and  inspiration  does  that 
upper,  invisible  world  bring  into  this  !  "  For  which 
cause  we  faint  not,"  It  consoles  us,  strengthens  us 
to  do  and  suffer,  creates  in  us  a  holy  joy  and  ecstasy. 

Do  I  look  up  as  much  as  I  might  to  where  these 
flowers  and  immortality  grow  whose  perfume  is  wafted 
into  this  lower  life?  It  will  do  me  good  to  think 
oftener  of  being  "  at  home  with  the  Lord." 


107 


THE  GATES  OE  DAWN 


April  17 

Scripture  Reading— John  v.  39-47 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Had  ye  belieued  Moses  ye  would  have  believed  Me,  for  he 
wrote  of  Me." — ^John  v.  46 

'  T  AM  come  in  My  Father's  name,  and  ye  receive 
X  Me  not :  if  another  shall  come  in  his  own  name, 
him  ye  will  receive."  They  rejected  the  pure  and 
guiltless  Jesus,  and  approved  Barabbas !  And  do 
not  many  still  show  the  same  preference  ? 

As  Archer  Butler  writes:  "Who,  then,  are  the 
darling  idols  of  human  applause?  Who  are  the  chosen 
of  our  race  that  poetry  crowns  with  its  halo  of  glory, 
and  every  young  imagination  bows  to  worship? 
Who  but  the  laurelled  Barabbases  of  history,  the 
chartered  robbers  and  homicides  that  stain  its  pages 
with  blood,  and  that,  after  eighteen  hundred  years  of 
Christian  discipline,  the  world  has  not  yet  risen  to 
discountenancing  ?  Remove  the  conventional  dis- 
credit that  attaches  to  the  weaker  thief,  exalt  him  to 
the  majesty  of  the  military  despot,  and  how  many 
would  vote  for  Barabbas,  how  many  linger  with  the 
lowly  Jesus  ? " 

"  He  shall  convince  the  world  of  sin  ;  of  sin  because 
they  believe  not  in  Me."  Those  in  whom  the  world 
believes  condemn  it  for  not  believing  in  the  Son  of 
God.  The  world  proves  its  sin  by  its  hero  worship  ; 
proves  what  it  is  by  rejecting  the  pure  and  guiltless 
One. 


108 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  18 

Scripture  Reading — Ps,  civ.  24-35 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"0  Lord,  how  manifold  are  Thy  works,  in  wisdom  hast  Thou 
made  them  all." — Ps.  civ.  24 

GOD'S  absolute  mastery  over  nature  is  a  favourite 
theme  with  this  poet ;  he  revels  in  the  thought 
that  his  God  is  above  stars,  seas,  and  seasons. 

To  apprehend  nature  in  its  relation  to  the  Deity 
is  to  see  it  in  enhanced  glory,  and  to  find  its  infinite 
meaning.  Contemplating  the  universe  in  the  light 
of  God,  the  light  of  the  moon  becomes  as  the  light 
of  the  sun.  To  see  nature  in  its  relation  to  man  is 
to  complete  the  charm. 

Art  almost  unconsciously  reveals  that  nature  must 
be  known  in  relation  to  humanity,  if  we  are  to  feel 
the  fulness  of  her  fascination.  If  the  sea  is  painted, 
it  must  bear  a  sail ;  if  a  landscape,  it  must  be  relieved 
by  a  human  figure ;  if  a  wood,  smoke  must  suggest 
a  dwelling;  nature  only  satisfies  as  it  is  recognised 
in  its  relation  to  human  kind. 

The  Bible  knows  nothing  of  the  atheism  of 
paganism  that  leaves  God  out  of  nature;  of  the 
cynicism  of  the  paganism  that  despises  man  in 
contrast  to  the  grandeur  of  earth  and  sky.  On  the 
ocean  God  walks ;  "  there  go  the  ships "  in  which 
men  sail.  Let  us  beware  of  the  paganism  that 
ignores  the  Lord  and  that  belittles  man. 


109 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  19 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  xlvi. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Be  still  and  know  that  I  am  God. "— Ps.  xlvi.  lo 

'"T^HEREFORE  will  we  not  fear."  "Be  still 
j[  and  know  that  I  am  God."  Paul  knew  a 
great  deal  about  shipwreck.  "  Thrice  I  suffered 
shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  have  I  been  in  the 
deep."     "  In  perils  in  the  sea."     In  "  perils  of  rivers." 

Yet  with  all  his  acquaintance  with  the  terrors  of 
the  ocean,  he  knew  a  worse  shipwreck  far.  Writing 
to  Timothy,  he  speaks  of  some  "  having  made  ship- 
wreck concerning  the  faith."  Ah  !  this  is  the  saddest 
calamity  of  all.  What  a  wonderful  ship  is  faith ! 
She  discovers  worlds  beyond  anything  found  by 
Columbus.  What  a  freight  she  carries !  Riches 
beyond  the  treasures  of  Solomon's  ships  of  gold. 
To  what  a  glorious  realm  she  transports !  Faith  is 
sweetly  lost  in  sight  of  what  never  entered  the 
heart  of  man  to  conceive. 

This  is  the  wreck  to  be  feared.  To  lose  faith  in 
God,  faith  in  His  government,  faith  in  His  promises, 
faith  in  the  inheritance  He  has  prepared  for  His 
people.  Faith  is  the  grandest  galleon  of  all  that 
dare  the  deeps.  Let  no  rock  shatter  it ;  no  tempest 
leave  it  derelict ;  no  pirates  spoil  it. 


no 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  20 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xviii.  1-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  delivered  me  because  He  delighted  in  me."— Ps.  xviii.  19 

THE  personal  note  here  is  very  striking.  "Man 
is  nothing  compared  with  the  grandeur  of 
nature ! "  cries  the  modern  cynic ;  but  here  the 
thought  is  quite  to  the  contrary,  the  grandeur  of 
nature  is  nothing  compared  with  the  majesty  of 
man,  and  all  her  movements  are  subordinated  to 
his  welfare  and  salvation.  Shaken  hills,  bowed 
heavens,  blazing  lightnings,  are  all  regarded  in  the 
light  of  instruments  of  personal  blessing.  "  I,"  "  me," 
"  my,"  come  in  with  every  line.  Sublime  egotism  ! 
The  soul  is  more  than  the  stars. 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson  tells  a  correspondent  that 
"the  world  turns  upon  vast  hinges,"  and  that  it  is  a 
mistake  to  believe  that  Nature  and  Providence  con- 
template the  individual  welfare.  It  was  Stevenson's 
mistake  to  say  so.  Nature  and  history  turn  upon 
straws,  and  personal  welfare  is  the  supreme  end  of 
the  supreme  government. 

Let  us  not  obliterate  ourselves  in  the  mass,  the 
vast,  the  awful,  the  universal.  "  I  "  am  the  object 
of  God's  thought;  He  contemplates  "my"  welfare; 
delights  in  "me,"  and  brings  "me"  into  a  large 
place. 


Ill 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  21 

Scripture  Reading — i  Thkss.  v. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  U8  cast  off  the  works  of  darkness,  and  let  U8  put  on  the 

armour  of  light," — Rom.  xiii.  12 

WE  ought  very  practically  to  recognise  the 
momentousness  of  the  day  in  which  we 
live,  and  our  special  obligation.  Every  age  is  a 
crisis,  every  age  transitional,  involving  serious  and 
immediate  duty  to  its  own  generation.  "  Is  it  a  time 
to  receive  money,  and  to  receive  garments,  and  olive- 
yards  and  vineyards,  and  sheep  and  oxen  ?  "  was  the 
rebuke  of  Elisha  to  his  covetous  servant 

Is  not  the  age  in  which  we  live  one  of  manifest 
momentousness?  Surely  we  are  called  to  play  our 
part  at  a  great  juncture,  and  we  must  recognise  the 
imminence  of  a  great  crisis.  Strange  things,  terrible 
things,  glorious  things  are  impending! 

What  is  our  obvious  duty?  To  put  away  the 
things  of  greed,  enmity,  and  indulgence,  and  to  array 
ourselves  in  the  shining  invulnerable  panoply  of 
charity  and  righteousness.  "Clothe  you  with  the 
nature  of  our  Lord,  and  let  not  the  body,  and  the 
pampering  of  its  cravings,  be  your  life's  aim."  Hasten 
on  the  dawning  day  of  the  great  Deliverance  and 
Salvation. 


112 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  22 

Scripture  Reading— Isa,  vt 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Past  feeling." — Eph.  iv.  19 

THE  Spaniards  have  a  popular  legend  concerning 
the  Petrified  Man.  The  story  relates  that 
once  he  was  in  the  flesh,  but  that  he  appealed  to 
the  blessed  saints  to  turn  him  into  a  stone  image  if 
he  had  committed  a  certain  fraud,  of  which  really 
he  was  guilty.  In  a  moment  a  curious  change  came 
over  him.  Gradually  his  legs  turned  to  white  stone. 
The  stone  continued  to  creep  further  along  his  body 
until  he  was  altogether  petrified. 

Does  not  the  unfaithful  soul  suffer  a  similar 
change?  The  whole  moral  nature  is  gradually 
materialised.  The  heart  becomes  fat,  the  ears  heavy, 
the  eyes  shut;  so  that  they  who  quench  the  Spirit 
cannot  see  with  their  eyes,  hear  with  their  ears,  or 
understand  with  their  heart.  The  higher  nature 
suffers  petrifaction — becomes  insensible,  deaf,  blind 
to  the  eternal. 

How  carefully  should  we  guard  against  the  un- 
belief, worldliness,  and  sensuality  which  bring  about 
this  awful  transformation  1 


113 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  23 

Scripture  Reading — Heb.  iii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Tahe  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart 
of  unbelief." — Heb.  iii.  12 

IT  has  been  recognised  as  a  most  difficult  task  to 
keep  heights  to  which  the  soul  in  rare  moments 
attains.  The  Christians  to  whom  this  Epistle  was 
written  were  in  danger  of  bartering  their  glorious 
privileges  and  hopes  in  Christ  for  the  social  and 
secular,  going  back  to  beggarly  elements. 

The  newspaper  told  within  the  last  few  months 
of  a  digger  who  for  the  sake  of  a  passing  indulgence 
surrendered  a  silver  claim  which  ultimately  yielded 
twenty  millions  sterling,  the  vendor  at  length  dying 
a  labourer  on  the  estate  he  so  foolishly  alienated. 
Yet  what  is  this  compared  with  the  relinquishment 
of  the  Christian  faith  and  hope  for  the  coarse  interests 
and  pleasures  of  a  carnal  and  godless  life  ? 

Let  me  watch  against  the  subtle  processes  of 
spiritual  degeneration.  Through  yielding  to  grosser 
tastes  the  unbelieving  Israelites  lost  Canaan  ;  let  me 
not  through  unwatchfulness  and  worldliness  lose 
the  eternal  reaUty  of  which  Canaan  was  only  the 
symbol. 


114 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  24 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Cor,  xi.  16-32 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Yet  of  myself  I  will  not  glory,  but  in  my  infirmities  .  .  ,  fot 
when  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong." — 2  Cor.  xii.  5  and  10 

IN  a  recent  autobiography,  Lady  Cardigan  relates 
that  her  husband,  Lord  Cardigan,  who  led  the 
charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  in  the  Crimean  War, 
hardly  ever  referred  to  the  magnificent  dash  that  he 
so  valiantly  led.  It  is  strange  how  silent  the  most 
brilliant  heroes  are  concerning  their  achievements, 
and  we  can  see  here  how  keenly  the  Apostle  felt  the 
necessity  for  this  recital.  In  his  reckoning  all  this 
was  nought  compared  with  the  recompense  of  the 
reward. 

Whatever  we  do,  give,  or  suffer  is  little  indeed  in 
the  light  of  Christ's  sacrifice  for  us.  Let  us,  whenever 
we  think  our  sorrows  exaggerated,  weigh  them  against 
Calvary. 

Let  me  not  look  at  my  trials  just  as  they  immedi- 
ately concern  me.  Let  me  estimate  them  in  their 
relation  to  Christ  Jesus,  my  example  and  perfecter,  in 
relation  to  the  soul's  incomparable  worth,  in  relation 
to  the  eternal  gain  ;  then  I  shall  demur  to  speak  of 
them,  so  insignificant  are  they. 


"5 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  25 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Cor.  xiii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Examine  yourselves,  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith ;  prove  your 

own  setues." — 2  Cor.  xiii.  5 

'""I  ^HIS  is  the  third  time  I  am  coming  to  you." 
J^  What  solemn  obligations  arise  from  repeated 
opportunities !  If  only  once  we  are  granted  a  full 
opportunity  it  ought  to  be  enough,  but  as  a  rule 
Heaven  extends  the  reprieve  and  grants  us  many 
seasons  of  repentance,  reformation,  perfecting. 

How  repeatedly  are  we  privileged  in  hearing  the 
Word  of  God  !  Line  upon  line  is  conceded  us,  we 
listen  to  a  thousand  calls.  How  life  is  perpetually 
furnishing  openings  to  a  new  or  a  higher  life !  Bright 
things  and  sad  things,  ordinary  events  and  extra- 
ordinary appeal  to  us,  and  make  possible  the  better 
things  to  which  they  solicit  us.  How  the  Spirit  of 
God  strives  with  us,  exhorting,  chiding,  wooing ! 

Let  me  hasten  to  put  away  the  evil  thing,  let  me 
not  delay  to  close  with  the  offers  of  grace,  let  me 
beware  lest  the  last  chance  be  missed.  "  He  that 
being  oft  reproved  and  hardeneth  his  neck  shall  be 
destroyed  suddenly,  and  that  without  remedy." 
«  Whilst  it  is  called  to-day." 


116 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  26 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Cor.  Iz. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  which  souieth  bountifully  shall  reap  also  bountifully."— 
2  Cor.  ix.  6 

THE  other  day  an  engineering  paper  recom- 
mended a  Universal  Grinding  Machine.  It 
went  on  to  describe  this  tool  as  being  calculated  "  to 
do  all  cutter  grinding,  flat  grinding,  parallel  and 
taper,  outside  and  inside  grinding."  This  machine 
reminded  us  of  a  few  persons  we  have  known  ; 
indeed,  we  think  we  can  remember  men  who  could 
have  given  that  machine  points. 

How  different  to  all  this  is  the  spirit  of  Christ ! 
It  does  not  calculate  what  it  can  get  out  of  men,  but 
what  it  can  do  for  them.  It  does  not  niggardly,  but 
abounds.  It  is  not  reluctant,  but  free  and  cheerful. 
The  Universal  Grinding  Machine  becomes  a  loving 
brother,  giving  time,  sympathy,  prayer,  influence  and 
money  to  those  who  need. 

Let  us  not  give  to  God  as  we  pay  the  income  tax. 
As  the  fragrance  rises  from  the  flower,  as  the  sweet- 
ness drips  from  the  honeycomb,  as  the  ripe  fruit 
drops  from  the  tree,  so  freely  must  we  offer. 


117 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  27 

Scripture  Reading — Deut.  xxxi.  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  Lord  thy  God,  He  it  is  that  doth  go  before  thee,  He  will  not 
fail  thee. " — Deut,  xxxi.  6 

"  T  N  the  year  that  King  Uzziah  died  I  saw  the 
J^  Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne."  Moses  died  and 
was  buried,  but  the  Lord  God  went  before  the 
bereaved  host.  Paul  is  martyred,  yet  Timothy  takes 
the  torch  from  his  sinking  hand  and  waves  it  high. 
Kings,  prophets,  and  apostles,  mighty  standard- 
bearers  faint,  but  the  scent  of  mortality  never  infects 
the  great  cause.  Time  writes  no  wrinkles  on  the 
sublime  front  of  the  Gospel. 

"  Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage."  God  is  with 
us,  and  the  world  is  ours  in  Him.  Let  there  be  no 
faintheartedness,  no  unbelief,  no  despair.  We  cannot 
despair  without  unreasonableness  and  faithlessness. 
The  possession  of  Canaan  by  the  Israelites  was  a 
dim,  imperfect  foreshadowing  of  the  irresistibility  and 
universality  of  Christ's  dominion. 

Let  us  not  argue  and  speculate  about  the  conquest 
of  India,  China,  Africa,  and  the  rest  of  the  regions  of 
the  earth,  as  if  their  future  conquest  were  an  open 
question ;  let  us  mark  them,  claim  them,  go  in  and 
possess  them. 


118 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  28 

Scripture  Reading — Jude  17-25 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God,  looking  for  the  mercy  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." — Jude  21. 

AS  against  the  heresies  and  lusts  of  ungodliness 
which  threaten  the  Church,  the  disciples  are 
called  to  personal  vigilance  and  endeavour.  "  Keep 
yourselves  in  the  love  of  God."  They  are  to  work 
out  their  own  salvation.  Fatalistic  Orientals  are 
said  to  be  poor  marksmen,  because  believing  that  the 
bullet  will  of  necessity  hit  the  predestined  mark  they 
take  little  care  to  perfect  themselves  in  shooting; 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  leaving  to  heaven  everything 
that  concerns  our  salvation,  and  neglecting  our  part. 
If  we  do  this  we  shall  do  badly.     ''K.cQ'p yourselves" 

"  Unto  Him  that  is  able  to  guard  you  from 
stumbling."  But  working  out  our  own  salvation,  we 
must  remember  at  every  step  our  dependence  upon 
God.  If  we  fail  to  keep  alive  this  consciousness  we 
may  stumble  and  fall ;  we  shall  stumble. 

With  what  a  soaring  peroration  this  letter  ends ! 
The  apostles  are  continually  breaking  into  glowing 
poetry.  Life  in  Christ  will  be  completed  with  a 
grand  peroration. 


119 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  29 

Scripture  Reading — Phil.  iii.  i7-iv.  9 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Our  conversation  is  in  heaven,  from  whence  also  we  look  for 
the  Saviour." — Phil.  iii.  20 

THE  "high  calling,"  or  as  the  margin,  "the 
upward  calling."  Migrating  birds  fly  high, 
often  very  high,  and  they  are  said  to  do  this  for  three 
reasons.  They  get  a  vaster  outlook  and  note  more 
clearly  the  points  of  direction.  They  are  more  secure 
from  enemies  and  hindrances.  And  the  greater 
refinement  of  the  atmosphere  enables  them  to 
accelerate  their  flight. 

The  higher  we  soar  the  more  clearly  do  we  discern 
the  will  of  God  and  all  the  great  truths  by  which  we 
live.  Living  in  high  altitudes  we  transcend  tempta- 
tions and  obstructions  which  delay  and  impede 
the  more  earthly  minded.  And  our  progress  is  all 
the  more  marked  and  delightful  in  the  higher  realms 
of  thought  and  life. 

"  Swift  as  the  eagle  cuts  the  air, 
We'll  mount  aloft  to  Thine  abode." 

Covet  the  purer,  ampler  air,  everyway  it  is  the  best. 


120 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


April  30 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xvil.  20-37 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Behold,    I  send  My  messenger  before  thy  face,  which  shall 
prepare  thy  way  before  thee." — Matt.  xi.  10 

TIMES  of  doubtfulness  occur  in  every  Christian 
life.  We  live  in  an  atmosphere  of  controversy 
and  are  distressed  by  moods  of  unbelief  We  stand 
in  doubt  of  the  things  most  confidently  held  by  the 
Church  of  God.  By  the  mysteries  of  life  we  are 
sometimes  staggered,  and  even  suspect  our  Master. 

In  these  hours  of  questioning  let  us  remember  how 
the  faith  of  Christ  has  verified  itself  in  character.  It 
has  created  in  successive  generations  the  fairest  and 
noblest  types  of  character. 

It  verifies  itself  in  experience.  Hogarth,  painting 
the  legend  of  the  god  descending  in  a  shower  of  gold, 
introduces  an  old  woman  trying  one  of  the  coins  in 
her  teeth.  The  truths  of  our  faith  prove  their 
preciousness,  submitted  to  the  test  of  experience. 

It  verifies  itself  in  action.  The  faith  of  Christ  is 
favourable  in  its  influence  upon  all  human  institu- 
tions, action,  circumstance. 


121 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  1 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  xl.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all  flesh  shall  see 
it  together." — Isa.  xl.  5 

JOHN,  whose  distinctive  teaching  concerned  the 
fact  and  guilt  of  sin,  was  the  first  to  recognise 
the  unique  grandeur  and  mission  of  the 
Messiah.  He  taught  the  doctrine  of  repentance,  but 
it  was  repentance  unto  remission,  and  remission  of 
sin  in  Christ.  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 

Here  is  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord."  "  I  paint,"  cried 
Raphael.  "  I  build,"  was  the  boast  of  Michael 
Angelo.  "  I  rule,"  cried  Caesar.  "  I  sing,"  cried 
Homer.     "  I  conquer,"  cried  Alexander. 

"  I  seek  and  save,"  cried  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the 
glory  of  the  Master  and  of  His  gospel,  He  knows 
the  secret  of  delivering  us  from  the  curse  of  sin,  guilt, 
shame ;  the  secret  of  eliciting  and  perfecting  all  the 
glory  of  our  nature. 

Let  me  pray  that  I  may  "  see "  this  glory  of  the 
Lord. 


122 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  2 

Scripture  Reading — ^John  iii.  22-36 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  must  increase." — ^John  iii.  30 

HOW  vast,  then,  our  privilege !  We  have  the 
greatest  of  teachers.  It  is  the  fashion  in 
some  quarters  to  exalt  the  founders  of  the  great 
religions  of  the  East  to  an  equality  with  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  put  the  ethnic  scriptures  on  a  level  with  the 
New  Testament.  Let  us  not  be  perplexed  or  misled. 
Christ  never  looks  greater  than  when  you  put  a  great 
man  by  His  side;  and  the  glory  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  never  more  impressive  than  when  you 
compare  it  with  human  documents ;  just  as  the  sun 
appears  most  splendid  tried  against  lime-light. 

"  He  must  increase."  That  is  true  to-day.  All 
faiths  must  pale  in  Christ's  diviner  light,  as  the  dawn 
dispenses  with  the  stars.  Our  religion  is  destined  to 
be  the  religion  of  the  world,  the  religion  of  the  ages. 
Let  me  then  rejoice  in  my  lot,  prove  all  the  blessed- 
ness of  my  privilege,  and  see  to  the  full  that  in  Christ 
I  possess  my  possessions. 


123 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  5 

Scripture  Reading — Heb.  ii.  10-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"In  that  He  Himself  hath  suffered  being  tempted,  He  Is  able 
to  succour  them  that  are  tempted." — Heb.  ii.  18 

THE  real  and  thorough  humanity  of  our  Lord  is 
a  mighty  consolation  to  His  afflicted  children. 
He  became  one  with  us  not  that  He  might  know  us, 
He  did  that  by  virtue  of  His  divinity,  but  that  we 
might  know  that  He  knows  us. 

"  In  that  He  hath  suffered,  being  tempted."  He 
knows  what  we  want  in  the  trying  hour.  We  can- 
not think  that  an  angel  could  enter  into  our  feelings 
and  fears.  The  Chinese  ask,  "  What  can  a  butterfly 
know  about  ice?"  It  knows  nothing.  It  belongs  to 
another  sphere,  and  leaving  the  realm  of  sunlight  and 
roses  can  little  understand  the  significance  of  battling 
with  frost  and  snow. 

So  the  angel  from  Heaven  fails  to  interpret  the 
mystery  of  human  suffering  and  trial.  Christ  can. 
He  not  only  comprehends,  but "  He  is  able  to  succour." 
We  often  can  only  look  upon  the  tried  without  being 
able  to  render  them  any  help,  but  Christ  can  make  us 
share  His  own  invincible  courage  and  strength. 


126 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  6 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  iv.  12-25 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"In  the  region  and  shadoiv  of  death  light  ia  sprung  up."— 
Matt.  iv.  16 

HOW  dark  was  the  world  without  Christ !  We 
cannot  realise  the  depth  of  the  darkness, 
having  never  known  what  it  is  to  be  without  Him. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  tropics  cannot  conceive  a 
Siberian  winter,  but  it  would  be  far  easier  for  them 
to  do  so  than  for  us  to  imagine  the  state  of  mankind 
without  Him  who  is  the  light  of  all  our  seeing. 

When  unbelievers  to-day  refuse  to  acknowledge 
the  Sun  of  Rii;hteousness,  they  nevertheless  walk  in 
its  reflected  light.  How  dense  the  gloom  when  that 
orb  of  glory  was  yet  entirely  below  the  horizon  ! 

"  For  the  Lord  God  is  a  sun  and  shield ;  the  Lord 
will  give  grace  and  glory."  The  advent  of  our  Lord 
has  given  this  precious  passage  extraordinary  signifi- 
cation. The  Eddystone  Lighthouse,  which  now 
glows  like  a  star,  showed  once  only  a  tallow  candle. 
The  Church  of  God  before  the  Incarnation  threw 
only  a  faint  lustre  on  the  vast  night ;  now  in  Christ 
Jesus  it  is  as  the  sun  shining  in  its  strength. 


127 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  7 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  ii.  13-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance."—' 
Marku.  17 

HUMAN  nature  at  its  worst  did  not  excite  the 
contempt  of  Jesus  Christ ;  there  is  an  absolute 
absence  of  cynicism  in  Him,  and  so  far  He  differs 
from  certain  philosophers ;  so  far,  too,  He  is  separated 
from  proud  moralists  and  erring  scientists.  The 
New  Testament  regards  with  reverence  and  sympathy 
the  saddest  ruins  of  humanity. 

Exactly  here  Christ  finds  His  welcome  sphere. 
When  Howard,  the  philanthropist,  visited  Exeter, 
he  found  that  the  medical  officer  of  the  county  gaol 
had  a  clause  inserted  in  his  agreement  with  the 
magistrates,  exonerating  him  from  attendance  and 
services  during  any  outbreak  of  the  gaol  fever  !  That 
was,  he  stipulated  to  be  excused  when  he  was  most 
wanted.  The  opposite  is  the  genius  of  Christianity 
— it  seeks  out  the  darkest  places,  the  worst  nations, 
the  neediest  souls. 

Is  not  such  a  faith  truly  Divine !  Let  me  despair 
of  none,  not  even  of  myself. 


128 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  8 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  viii.  27-38 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Whosoever  will  come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross." — Mark  viii.  34 

IT  is  suggestive  to  read  how  immediately  the 
disciples  responded  to  the  Master's  call,  leaving 
all  to  follow  Him.  It  was  certainly  not  much 
financially  that  they  renounced,  but  it  was  their  all. 
It  was  a  complete  and  decisive  renunciation. 

And  the  New  Testament  tells  us  of  no  regrets  in 
those  who  sacrificed  themselves  for  Christ.  The 
apostles  never  pathetically  recite  the  story  of  what 
they  gave  up  for  the  Christian  ministry.  They 
counted  all  as  refuse.  The  ancient  martyrs  some- 
times kissed  the  stake  at  which  they  suffered  so 
cruelly.  This  is  the  spirit  in  which  we  should  lose, 
suffer,  and  die  for  Christ's  sake. 

By  thus  renouncing  all  we  gain  all.  The  flower 
of  a  worldly  pleasure  lost,  blossoms  into  a  celestial 
paradise;  the  piece  of  worldly  gain  refused,  glows 
into  streets  and  walls  of  gold.  Nothing  yields 
higher  interest  than  loving  self-denials  for  the 
highest  claims. 


129 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  9 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  v.  i-i6 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers ;  for  they  shall  be  called  the 
children  of  God." — Matt.  v.  9 

THE  fundamental  teaching  of  our  Lord  con- 
cerning blessedness  is  that  it  is  attained 
through  obedience,  through  spiritual  obedience.  The 
world  has  ever  thought  that  happiness  was  a  matter 
of  happy  circumstance,  whilst  our  Lord  has  opened 
our  eyes  to  the  fact  of  the  inwardness  of  true  felicity. 
It  is  seen  to  be  a  question  of  disposition,  temper, 
feeling,  principle  and  purpose. 

If  the  soul  is  wrong,  it  is  little  matter  what  our 
circumstances  may  be ;  the  outer  grandeur  only 
mocks  the  interior  desolation,  the  outer  poverty  only 
completes  the  inner  misery.  If  the  soul  is  humble, 
serious,  pacific,  pure,  pitiful,  coveting  righteousness 
and  joying  in  sacrifice,  the  infinite  peace  fills  and 
rules  the  heart  irrespective  of  the  colour  of  life  and 
circumstances. 

"  Out  of  the  heart  are  the  issues  of  life."  Spiritual 
goodness  is  the  flower  and  happiness  its  perfume. 


130 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  10 

Scripture  Reading — Jas.  ii.  1-5 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world  rich  in  faith,  and 
heirs  of  the  Kingdom  ?" — ^Jas.  ii.  5 

THE  dignity  and  blessedness  of  human  life  spring 
from  the  grandeur  of  the  soul.  Jesus  Christ 
once  for  all  propounded  the  true  philosophy  of 
clothes. 

"  What  could  I  do  more  in  royal  robes,  father, 
than  in  this  plain  garment  ? "  said  Edward  I.  to  a 
bishop  who  remonstrated  with  him  on  his  attire  as 
unkingly.  The  kingly  spirit,  word,  deed  is  the 
main  matter,  not  the  gold  embroidery  of  Asiatic 
purple.  The  serene  countenance  not  the  jewelled 
circle,  the  clean  hands  not  the  bracelet,  the  mag- 
nanimous mind  not  the  pageantry. 

In  estimating  myself,  let  me  survey  myself  in  the 
perfect  law  and  not  in  the  mirror.  Let  me  honour 
all  men  ;  especially  reverencing  the  noble,  whether 
they  are  rich  or  poor.  It  is  astonishing  how  easily 
we  are  dazzled  by  fine  feathers,  how  easily  misled 
by  poor  clothing. 


131 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  11 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  ii.  1-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Not  by  might,  nor  by  pou/er,  but  by  My  Spirit,  saith  the' Lord 
of  hosts." — Zech.  iv,  6 

THE  baptism  of  the  fulness  of  spiritual  energy, 
of  moral  force,  is  a  mysterious  and  an  extra- 
ordinary event  in  the  history  of  the  race.  "God 
hath  spoken  once;  twice  have  I  heard  this;  that 
power  belongeth  unto  God."  The  Old  Testament 
knew  the  manifestation  of  this  power  in  varying 
measures,  yet  it  never  witnessed  the  revelation  of 
that  power  in  its  fulness. 

The  Romans  with  pick  and  spade  could  do  little 
in  making  roads  through  rocks  and  mountains.  The 
use  of  gunpowder  in  the  seventeenth  century  raised 
blasting  to  a  science.  The  introduction  of  dynamite, 
thrice  as  powerful  as  gunpowder,  entirely  revolu- 
tionised that  science.  And  then,  again,  nitro-glycerine, 
half  as  strong  again  as  dynamite,  has  largely  super- 
seded dynamite.  In  the  moral  world,  in  various 
directions  and  ages,  men  have  proved  in  various 
degrees  the  spiritual  power  by  which  they  subdue 
sin  and  achieve  holiness,  but  to  us  is  the  Spirit 
given  without  measure. 

Do  I  realise  the  saving,  sanctifying  Power? 


132 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  12 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  I, 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  is  the  man  that  ivalketh  not  in  the  counsel  of  the  un- 
godly."—Fs.  i.  I 

THE  fulness  of  blessing  lies  in  our  just  relation  to 
the  highest  law,  the  law  of  holiness  expressed 
in  revelation,  and  whose  supreme  exponent  and 
example  is  Jesus  Christ. 

We  must  know  the  law.  How  much  the  Psalmist 
has  to  say  about  knowing,  learning,  understanding 
the  law !  By  much  meditation  and  prayer  we  must 
learn  what  the  commandment  means,  and  have  our 
conscience  touched  to  fine  issues. 

We  must  love  the  law. 

What  an  intense  delight  some  men  take  in  nature ! 
Says  Spruce,  the  great  botanist,  "Throughout  the 
journey,  whenever  rains,  swollen  streams,  and  grumb- 
ling Indians  combined  to  overwhelm  me  with  chagrin, 
I  found  reason  to  thank  Heaven  which  had  enabled 
me  to  forget  for  the  moment  all  my  troubles  in  the 
contemplation  of  a  simple  moss." 

But  if  the  scientist  can  thus  delight  in  a  fragment 
of  nature,  how  much  more  ought  we  to  delight  in  the 
beautiful  laws,  the  lovely  graces,  the  glorious  works, 
of  the  moral  world  1 


133 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  13 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  xxxii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is 
covered." — Ps.  xxxii.  i 

THE  condition  of  blessedness  is  purity,  and  when 
blessedness  has  been  forfeited  through  sin,  it 
can  be  regained  only  through  repentance  and  pardon. 

It  is  little  use  talking  to  men  about  happiness  until 
you  can  show  them  how  to  get  rid  of  a  guilty 
conscience,  and  of  the  diseased,  depraving  principle 
which  infects  our  nature  and  life. 

In  the  South  Seas  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
islands  of  the  world,  but  it  is  inhabited  by  lepers.  It 
would  be  mockery  to  tell  the  sufferers  to  look  at  the 
flowers  and  be  happy.     They  first  want  health. 

In  the  Bay  of  Naples  is  another  island,  a  gem  set 
in  a  golden  sea,  but  it  is  wholly  tenanted  by  convicts. 
It  would  be  cruel  to  bid  them  be  happy.  They  first 
want  liberty.  Then  talk  to  them  about  sunrises,  sun- 
sets, and  all  the  glories  of  sky  and  sea. 

We  want  first  the  peaceful  conscience,  the  smile  of 
God,  the  principle  of  health  and  freedom  established 
in  the  soul  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then 
dawns  Heaven. 


134 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  14 

Scripture  Reading — i  Pet.  iv.  12-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 
*'God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." — Rev.  xxi.  4 

IF  in  any  real  sense  we  are  partakers  of  Christ's 
sufferings  we  may  rejoice,  and  that  joy  no  form 
or  degree  of  suffering  can  banish. 

The  joy  that  is  contingent  on  pleasant  conditions 
is  not  the  true  or  lasting  joy.  A  recent  writer  dwells 
on  gardening  in  the  shade.  He  complains  that  few 
understand  the  garden  possibilities  of  shade ;  they  oc- 
cupy the  ground  with  a  few  excessively  monotonous 
evergreens,  and  forget  how  many  and  how  delightful 
are  the  plants  that  will  grow  in  the  shade,  and  how 
innumerable  are  the  advantages  it  offers  to  the 
gardener  in  providing  a  succession  of  even  those 
flowers  that  love  the  sunlight. 

Our  Lord  taught  us  the  art  of  gardening  in  the 
shade,  whilst  men  had  hitherto  thought  that  the 
coveted  flowers  of  felicity  could  be  gathered  only  in 
the  sunlight.  Under  the  darkest  clouds,  within  the 
densest  shadows,  we  may  grow  the  purple  blossoms 
of  delightsomeness,  the  richest  fruits  of  goodness, 
*'  supposing  Him  to  be  the  gardener," 


13^ 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  15 

Scripture  Reading — Rev.  vii.  9-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart;  for  they  shall  see  God." — Matt. 
V.  8 

THIS  is  a  passage  to  think  about  rather  than  to 
write  about.  The  bulbs  that  have  been  sub- 
jected to  the  bitterest  winter  often  bear  the  rarest 
flowers,  and  those  who  come  out  of  great  tribulation 
are  most  radiant  in  felicity. 

It  is  perfect  gladness.  "  And  God  shall  wipe 
away  every  tear."  How  many  tears,  tears  for  mani- 
fold sorrows,  dim  our  eyes  !  He  shall  wipe  them  all 
away.  Sorrow  shall  cry,  "  The  tears  are  drying  in  my 
eyes " ;  sighing  shall  complain,  "  I  can't  get  my 
breath  "  ;  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away.  It 
is  everlasting  joy.  Our  gardeners  to-day  are  busy 
attempting  to  make  roses,  carnations,  and  sweet 
flowers  generally,  evergreen.  That  problem  in  the 
sphere  of  the  soul  has  been  solved  in  Christ. 

Let  me  be  resigned,  brave,  hopeful.  It  has  not 
entered  our  heart  to  conceive  the  grand  things  which 
are  close  to  us,  ours  for  ever. 


136 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  16 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  v.  17-26 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil." — RTatt.  v.  17 

TRUE  religion  is  no  mere  mystic  passive  dream 
of  devotion — a  gazing  in  rapt  reverence  on  the 
mystery  of  godliness,  and  no  more.  It  is  a  system 
also  of  high,  comprehensive,  delicate  law,  which  de- 
mands daily  determined  obedience.  It  is  a  doing 
and  a  being. 

The' righteousness  of  Christ  is  excelling ;  it  signifies 
infinitely  more  than  civil  law,  social  courtesy,  or 
ecclesiastical  discipline.  It  means  a  noble  heart 
governing  daily  life  in  its  most  delicate  relations 
and  situations.  It  is  no  "rule  of  thumb,"  but  of  finer 
discriminations  than  the  most  exquisite  instruments 
of  science. 

Let  me  not  mistakenly  spend  life  in  arguing  down 
and  arguing  away  the  lofty  laws  of  Christ.  Let  me 
not  labour  to  accommodate  them  to  my  weakness. 
Let  me  daily  pray  for  the  grace  that  will  bring  me  up 
to  the  height  of  the  law,  and  not  attempt  to  bring 
down  the  law  to  my  frailty. 


137 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  17 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  v.  38-48 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Love  your  enemies;  bless  them  that  curse  you." — Matt.  v.  44 

ONE  day  an  aide-de-camp  of  the  Emperor  Nicolas 
threw  himself  at  his  sovereign's  feet,  and 
begged  as  an  extraordinary  favour  permission  to  fight 
a  duel.  The  Emperor  immediately  and  emphatically 
refused. 

"  But,  sire,  I  am  dishonoured ;  I  must  fight,"  cried 
the  disconsolate  aide. 

The  Czar  frowned,  and  asked  him  what  he  meant. 

"  I  have  been  struck  in  the  face,"  was  the  ready 
reply. 

"  Well,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  for  all  that,  thou  shalt 
not  fight ;  but  come — come  with  me."  And,  taking 
him  by  the  arm,  the  Emperor  led  him  into  the 
presence  of  the  Court,  which  was  assembled  in  an 
adjoining  saloon. 

Then,  in  view  of  the  flower  of  his  realm,  the 
Emperor  kissed  the  cheek  of  the  aide-de-camp  which 
had  received  the  blow.  "  Go  now,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  and  be  at  peace  ;  the  affront  has  been  effaced." 

The  knowledge  of  God's  infinite  patience  and  love 
to  us  and  the  race,  the  consciousness  of  His  sympathy 
in  any  injustice  we  may  suffer,  the  sense  of  His  over- 
flowing love  to  His  wronged  children,  ought  to  inspire 
us  to  superhuman  excellence.     His  kiss  settles  all. 


138 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  18 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  cxix.  33-48 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  ivfl/  delight  myself  in  Thy  commandments." — Ps.  cxix.  47 

IT  is  quite  impossible  that  memory  should  retain 
all  the  precepts  of  the  law,  and  that  we  should 
be  able  to  reproduce  them  on  the  spot  and  at  the 
moment ;  but  we  may  have  our  eye  so  filled  with 
the  beauty  of  holiness,  our  mind  so  saturated  with 
its  spirit,  our  heart  so  kindled  with  its  love,  that  we 
shall  obey  instinctively  every  commandment. 

The  scholar  in  writing  does  not  recur  every 
moment  to  the  grammatical  law  which  determines 
the  construction  of  the  sentences  in  which  he  ex- 
presses himself;  the  grammar  is  in  his  mind,  and  is 
unconsciously  obeyed;  the  painter  does  not  with 
every  touch  consult  the  special  canon  which  applies 
to  the  particular  work  on  which  he  is  engaged ;  he 
obeys  the  precept  whilst  forgetting  it. 

So  let  the  law  be  written  on  my  heart,  so  let  my 
mind  be  saturated  with  its  truth  and  beauty,  that  I 
shall  in  the  infinitely  varied  situations  of  life  do  the 
becoming  thing. 

Obedience  is  the  secret.  Not  slavish  obedience,  but 
sympathetic,  loving,  eager  obedience.  "  His  delight  is 
in  the  law  of  the  Lord."  May  the  law  of  holiness  be 
to  me  welcome  as  the  light,  sweet  as  the  flowers,  more 
to  be  desired  than  much  fine  gold  1 


139 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  19 

Scripture  Reading — i  Sam.  xxiv.  1-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drinli." 

— Rom.  xii.  20 

THE  history  of  David  and  Saul  shows  how  in 
the  long-run  patience,  long  suffering,  mag- 
nanimity prevail ;  the  throne  was  not  lost,  but  won. 

Revenge  is  the  most  odious  of  the  vices.  It  is 
the  dark  passion  of  the  savage ;  the  peculiar  disgrace 
of  low  civilisations.  A  large  part  of  the  misery  of 
Eastern  and  Southern  nations  is  occasioned  by  it. 
Ought  not  the  opposite  virtue  of  forbearance  and 
forgiveness,  then,  to  appear  as  beautiful  as  vindictive- 
ness  appears  hideous?  Is  not  magnanimity  the 
characteristic  of  the  noblest  of  men  and  nations  ? 

David  respected  Saul  because  he  was  royal.  He 
vi^as  "  the  Lord's  anointed,"  and  therefore  must  not 
be  touched.  But  is  there  not  a  kingship  about  all 
men,  a  sacred  greatness,  a  divinity  that  doth  hedge 
them  ?  We  must  stand  on  our  guard  lest  we  become 
regicides.  Let  me  beware  of  cherishing  resentment, 
of  pursuing  my  enemy  with  rancour,  of  taking  the 
law  into  my  own  hands.  Far  beyond  this,  let  me 
be  clement,  returning  good  for  evil. 


140 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  20 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  vi.  1-15 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"When  thou  doest  thine  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet  before 
thee  as  the  hypocrites  do  ,  .  .  that  they  may  haue  glory  of  men. 
Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  haue  their  reward." — Matt.  vi.  2 

NOTHING  further  was  to  be  expected.  They 
coveted  the  praise  of  men ;  they  got  it,  and 
so  the  account  was  squared.  True  Hfe  is  the  "  laying 
up "  of  treasure ;  the  luxury  of  doing  good  in  a 
right  spirit  is  the  foretaste  of  a  perpetual  feast; 
substantially  everything  is  to  come. 

The  almsgiving  that  comes  up  before  God  is  with- 
out selfishness.  It  is  without  calculation,  grudging, 
or  ungraciousness.  It  gives  as  the  sun  its  light,  the 
flower  its  fragrance,  dropping  as  the  gentle  rain, 
bubbling  up  as  the  sparkling  waters  of  the  spring. 
It  is  without  pride.  It  glorifies  God,  it  sympathises 
with  the  needy,  it  is  the  fruit  of  a  heart  at  leisure 
from  itself.  It  is  without  ostentation.  It  does  good 
and  throws  it  into-  the  sea,  knowing  that  the  smile 
of  God  is  enough. 

What  blessing  is  better  than  a  big  heart?  Let 
me  seek  such  a  heart,  and  let  me  take  care  that  I 
do  not  starve  it. 


141 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  21 

Scripture  Reading — ^John  i,  29-34 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  sau/  and  bare  record  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God."— John  i.  34 

THE  awakening  of  the  soul  to  the  glory  of  Christ 
is  a  meinorable  event  in  any  life.  "  And  I 
knew  Him  not."  John  certainly  knew  Christ  before 
this  in  a  technical  sense;  he  knew  of  Him  and  had 
a  certain  superficial  acquaintance  with  Him ;  but 
John  did  not  know  Him,  did  not  appreciate  the  real 
grandeur  and  mission  of  the  Messiah,  In  a  given 
hour  the  Baptist's  eyes  were  opened  to  the  glory 
of  the  Lord. 

We  may  have  a  knowledge  of  Christ,  be  indeed 
familiar  with  Him,  and  yet  not  know  Him  as  the 
Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  the  soul.  "  Have  I 
been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not 
known  me,  Philip  ? "  We  only  know  Christ  when  we 
know  His  divine  glory,  His  sacrificial  death,  His 
pardoning  grace.  His  sanctifying  power,  and  know 
these  great  truths  in  relation  to  our  own  personal 
needs  and  salvation.  Knowing  Him  thus  really,  we 
may  know  Him  more  fully,  with  fresh  flashes  of 
illumination. 


T42 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  22 

Scripture  Reading— Matt,  xxiii.  23-39 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  Lord  tooketh  on  the  heart." — i  Sam.  xvi.  7 

OUR  Lord  can  be  satisfied  only  with  perfect 
sincerity;  we  must  be  genuine,  honest,  having 
no  decoration  other  than  the  natural  shining  forth 
of  a  superior  spirit  and  character. 

A  recent  writer  extols  Japanese  artists  for  their 
method  of  bringing  out  the  beauty  of  the  natural 
wood ;  they  trust  everything  to  the  quality  of  the 
material  itself,  treating  the  wood  as  we  do  precious 
marbles,  and  adding  no  ornamentation  of  carving 
or  paint.  In  the  end  the  wood  under  their  hand 
becomes  quite  as  wonderful  a  material  as  our  ex- 
pensive marbles.  And  this  writer  concludes,  "  In 
Japan  one  comes  to  the  final  conclusion  that  stains, 
paints,  and  varnish  are  nothing  short  of  artistic 
crimes." 

This  is  precisely  the  position  of  our  Lord  in  regard 
to  character.  There  must  be  interior  purity,  truth, 
sincerity,  love,  reality,  and  beauty  in  the  very  grain 
and  texture  of  the  soul,  and  that  will  suffice.  Here 
"stains,  paints,  and  varnish"  are  moral  crimes. 


143 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  23 

Scripture  Reading— Isa.  i.  10-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
f  Cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well."— Isa,  i.  16,  17 

WORSHIP  is  a  ghastly  mockery  without  moral 
faithfulness.  It  is  truly  strange  how  many 
permit  themselves  the  appearance  of  piety,  whilst 
their  character  is  grievously  at  fault. 

Great  painters  created  altar-pieces  representing 
Our  Lord  and  His  saints,  masterpieces  of  consum- 
mate purity  and  beauty,  and  yet  they  themselves 
were  of  infamous  character.  Famous  literary  masters 
have  written  charmingly  concerning  piety  and  ethics, 
whilst  ^  personally  glaringly  immoral  in  practice. 
Ecclesiastics  most  punctilious  in  ritual  have  yet  at 
the  same  time  lived  a  sensual  life  and  done  out- 
rageous deeds. 

Character  must  certify  worship,  or  worship  is  an 
insult  to  high  Heaven.  How  sternly  revelation  keeps 
its  eye  on  righteousness!  It  permits  nothing  to 
blind  us  as  to  the  supreme  thing.  Let  me  bring 
this  jealousy  into  my  life.  If  I  regard  iniquity  in 
my  heart  the  fire  in  the  censer  becomes  unhallowed, 
the  Litany  profane,  the  Sacraments  sacrilege. 


144 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  24 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xviii.  9-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner. " — Luke  xviii.  13 

AT  the  root  of  all  true  prayer  is  the  consciousness 
of  sin,  the  hunger  of  the  soul,  the  sense  of 
humility  and  dependence. 

We  are  not  likely  to  use  the  language  of  the 
Pharisee,  but  we  may  easily  glide  into  his  spirit.  In 
true  prayer  we  think  of  our  sin,  not  of  our  merit.  In 
true  prayer  we  think  of  our  own  sin,  not  the  sin  of 
others.  In  true  prayer  we  think  of  our  sin  in  God's 
sight,  and  do  not  pray  as  did  the  publican,  "  with 
himself."  We  stand  before  the  great  white  throne 
and  bemoan  our  shame,  not  before  a  mirror  to  con- 
template our  beauty. 

We  remember  our  sin,  we  confess  it,  with  a  contrite 
heart  we  lament  and  forsake  it,  and  it  is  then  that  we 
find  the  gift  of  justification  and  all  other  blessings. 
How  often  do  we  miss  the  benediction  because  we 
come  to  the  throne  feeling  rich  and  increased  in 
goods  and  having  need  of  nothing?  The  law  beats 
us  to  our  knees  that  the  gospel  may  put  a  crown  of 
pure  gold  upon  our  head. 


145 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  25 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  xxxiv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God."— Vs.  xiv.  i 

HOW  foolish  prayer  looks  to  the  carnal  eye! 
A  man  on  his  knees  soliciting  blessing  from 
the  Invisible,  the  Unknown  ! 

Yes,  and  how  foolish  a  telegraph  clerk  looks 
standing  by  his  strange  instrument  working  a  crank, 
click,  click,  click !  Very  foolish,  perhaps,  to  an 
ignoramus,  but  not  so  to  the  instructed.  It  is  all 
sublime,  although  the  message  despatched  may 
sometimes  appear  trivial. 

So,  only  infinitely  more  wise  and  wonderful,  is  the 
saint  in  the  act  of  prayer.  Ethereal  chords  bind 
world  to  world,  star  to  star,  sun  to  sun,  and  all  worlds 
to  Him  who  is  the  Life  and  Ruler  of  the  universe, 
as  electric  wires  bind  city  to  city,  and  the  saint  on 
his  knees  thrills  his  prayer  along  these  chords  into 
the  ears  of  the  Almighty. 

Thus  all  spiritual  and  worldly  good,  all  blessing 
for  time  and  eternity,  become  ours.  "  Shall  not  want 
any  good  thing."  What  a  charter !  Let  me  observe 
the  condition  and  pray  always.  All  things  are  ours, 
for  we  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's. 


146 


THE  GATES  OE  J)AVVN 


May  26 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  vi.  19-34 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  Ye  cannot  serue  God  and  mammon. " — Matt.  vi.  24 

THE  highest  Hfe  becomes  impossible  when  we 
cherish  in  our  heart  a  secret  covetousness. 

In  art  a  sordid  motive  is  fatal  to  perfection.  To 
make  a  brilliant  social  position  his  end  is  to  stultify 
the  artist's  genius  and  fame.  The  greatest  artists 
decline  to  produce  "pot-boilers." 

Commercialism  in  science  is  equally  bad.  The 
greatest  experimentalists  worked  with  a  simple 
passion  for  truth,  entirely  neglecting  the  idea  of  the 
market  value  of  their  research.  The  very  thought  of 
mercenary  advantage  acts  like  a  blight  on  intellectual 
life. 

How  impossible,  then,  is  it  to  serve  God  and 
mammon  1  Two  supreme  passions  cannot  exist 
within  us  at  the  same  time.  Gold  is  often  a  by- 
product of  godliness,  but  if  covetousness,  worldiness, 
and  ambition  are  cherished  in  our  hearts,  godliness 
becomes  impossible. 

Let  my  soul  live  for  God,  for  Him  alone,  and  I 
leave  altogether  with  Him  the  more  or  less  of  earthly 
good. 


147 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  27 

Scripture  Reading— Hag.  L 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  tlie  evil  thereof," — Matt.  vi.  34 

HOW  often  fears  for  the  future  render  us  mean 
in  our  dealings  with  the  cause  of  God,  which 
is  also  the  cause  of  man  !  If  we  could  only  feel 
certain  about  to-morrow  we  might  justly  do  more 
generously  to-day.  So  we  check  and  quench  the 
finest  impulses  of  the  heart. 

But  may  we  not  feel  certain  about  the  future  ?  It 
has  been  well  said  that  God  never  permits  a  man  to 
be  ruined  by  his  virtues,  and  certainly  we  cannot 
believe  that  He  will  permit  any  of  His  children  to  be 
ruined  by  their  magnanimity  and  deeds  of  love. 
Solicitude  and  stinginess  easily  bring  into  life  a 
mysterious  blight ;  they  will  never  really  enrich  us. 

Let  me  not  nervously  put  away  the  alabaster  box 
of  precious  ointment  with  misgivings  that  one  day  I 
may  need  it  for  myself;  let  me  lovingly,  and  even 
daringly,  break  it  to-day  in  honour  of  my  Lord  and 
in  furtherance  of  His  Kingdom,  If  I  do,  as  surely  as 
the  world  stands,  He  will  never  see  me  want. 


148 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  28 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xii.  16-34 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Provide  yourselves  bags  which  wax  not  old,  a  treasure  in  the 
heavens  that  faileth  not." — Luke  xii.  33 

SURELY  nothing  in  this  world  is  more  insane 
than  setting  our  hearts  on  material  fleeting 
treasure. 

The  Greeks  spoke  of  Plutus,  the  god  of  riches,  as 
a  fickle  divinity,  representing  him  as  blind,  to 
intimate  that  he  distributes  his  favours  indiscrimin- 
ately ;  as  lame,  to  denote  the  slowness  with  which  he 
approaches ;  and  winged,  to  imply  the  velocity  with 
which  he  flies  away.  And  are  we  to  put  our  trust  in 
such  a  god  as  this  ?  In  all  the  pantheon  of  idolatry 
no  god  is  so  rotten  as  the  golden  god, 

"  T/ie  JiedgeJwg' s  hoard"  is  a  Gaelic  saying  of 
significant  force.  It  is  expressive  of  the  folly  of  the 
worldly-minded,  who  part  with  all  at  the  grave,  as 
the  hedgehog  is  compelled  to  drop  its  burden  of 
crab-apples  at  the  narrow  entrance  of  its  hole.  How 
strange  is  the  infatuation  of  heaping  up  treasure  ! 
Let  us  strive  to  be  "  rich  toward  God." 


149 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  29 

Scripture  Reading — Rev.  iii.  14-22 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"They  that  will  be  rich  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare." — 
I  Tim.  vi.  9 

"'nr^HE  love  of  money  can  only  be  remedied  by 
J[  '  the  expulsive  power  of  a  new  affection.' 
If  we  would  not  have  the  ivy  creep  on  the  ground  we 
must  erect  an  object  which  it  can  embrace,  and  by 
embracing,  ascend  ;  and  if  we  would  detach  the  heart 
from  embracing  the  dust,  we  must  give  to  it  another 
and  a  nobler  object." 

The  Scriptures  describe  the  nobler  objects  to  which 
we  should  cling :  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the  Giver ; 
the  cultivation  of  sublime  qualities  of  character  and 
principles  of  conduct ;  the  service  of  our  generation 
in  the  highest  things ;  the  laying  up  in  store  for 
ourselves  against  the  time  to  come ;  the  living  all 
life  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the  sense  of  the  eternal. 

The  spiritual  ideal  and  hope  is  eternal  truth  and 
life,  and  if  we  covet  earnestly  the  things  which  are 
above  we  shall  not  be  much  tempted  to  let  our  heart 
creep  along  the  ground. 


150 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  30 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xviii.  18-30 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Distribute  unto  the  poor,  and  tfiou  shaft  have  treasure  in 
heaven." — Luke  xvi.  22 

HOW  immense  the  change  wrought  in  the 
Christian  nations  by  the  example  and  spirit 
of  Christ,  in  the  attitude  of  the  rich  and  powerful 
towards  the  needy  in  any  sense ! 

Think  how  the  Greeks  and  Romans  regarded  their 
slaves  as  cattle,  how  harshly  they  treated  the  captive, 
how  they  despised  the  poor.  That  attitude  has  been 
entirely  reversed,  and  if  the  change  has  not  been 
effected  by  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  has  it  been 
effected  ? 

Let  us  seek  to  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
sympathy  and  self-sacrifice.  The  ruler  in  the  text 
stifled  a  gracious  emotion  and  lost  a  grand  oppor- 
tunity. Whenever  the  Spirit  of  God  excites  us  to 
holy  and  magnanimous  renunciation  and  endeavour, 
let  us  be  instantly  obedient  to  the  heavenly  vision 
and  impulse,  lest  the  precious  opportunity  be  gone 
for  ever. 


151 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


May  81 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xxxvii.  1-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Delight  thyself  in  the  Lord ;  and  He  shall  give  thee  the  desires 
of  thine  heart." — Ps.  xxxvii.  4 

WE  must  not  measure  the  success  of  life  by 
financial  or  social  success.  It  is  infinitely 
better  to  possess  a  modest  estate  and  status  with 
honour  than  to  hasten  to  be  rich  by  feverish  and 
false  methods. 

The  Gaelic  proverb  is  indisputably  true:  Better 
the  long,  clean  road  than  tlie  short,  dirty  one.  The 
short  cut  to  pleasure,  wealth,  or  greatness  is  at  once 
a  great  temptation  and  a  great  mistake.  How  many 
who  try  it  never  get  out  of  it !  They  stick  to  the 
mud,  slip  in  the  mire,  perish  miserably  in  the  slough, 
having  never  reached  the  glittering  things  of  their 
desire ;  or,  if  they  do  reach  the  prize,  how  the  dirt 
clings  to  them,  spoiling  all. 

Let  me  keep  contentedly  to  the  clean  road,  long 
or  short,  for  whether  or  no  it  leads  to  earthly 
eminence  or  wealth,  it  certainly  leads  to  glory, 
honour,  immortality,  eternal  life. 


152 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  1 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  xxxvii.  21-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  His  righteousness ;  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you. " — Matt.  vi.  33 

THE  newspaper  recently  told  of  a  poor  lunatic 
being  found  on  the  railway  line  gathering 
stones  together  with  great  excitement.  He  main- 
tained that  he  had  discovered  a  gold  mine  ! 

How  far  removed  from  this  insanity  are  they  who 
trust  in  gold  and  make  fine  gold  their  confidence? 
Their  perverted  imagination  beholds  the  final  treasure 
of  existence  in  the  dust  of  the  earth. 

Let  me  never  forget  that  the  real  wealth  of  life  is 
in  the  things  of  wisdom  and  personal  worth.  Let 
me  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteous- 
ness. If  then  I  have  but  little,  the  real  wants  of  life 
are  little.  If  I  have  more,  I  have  a  greater  instrument 
of  usefulness.  If  I  have  nothing,  I  have  yet  a  king- 
dom, a  world  within  of  power  and  peace  and  hope. 

May  I  be  saved  from  the  illusions  of  worldliness. 
May  I  be  a  true  alchemist,  ever  converting  the  baser 
metals  of  earth  into  the  fine  gold  of  moral  worth. 


153 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  2 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  vii.  1-12 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  even  so  to  them." — Matt.  vii.  12 

THE  place  that  the  New  Testament  gives  to  the 
matter  of  criticising  one  another  is  very  re- 
markable. Never  before  in  the  history  of  morals  had 
this  question  occupied  the  position  of  importance 
that  is  now  assigned  it ;  indeed,  so  far  as  we  know, 
this  particular  phase  of  conduct  had  never  before 
been  recognised.  In  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  a 
new  view  of  duty  emerges. 

Goethe  frankly  confesses:  "  It  is  only  necessary  to 
grow  old  to  become  indulgent.  I  see  no  fault  com- 
mitted that  I  have  not  committed  myself."  How 
much  truth  is  implied  in  a  confession  of  this  order 
we  must  all  acknowledge.  If,  then,  in  fact  or  in 
feeling,  in  thought  or  in  deed,  in  motive  or  desire,  we 
have  been  guilty  of  pretty  nearly  all  the  failings  of 
our  fellows,  how  silent  ought  we  to  be  or  how  tender 
in  judging  them!  As  Shakespeare  puts  it:  "Wilt 
thou  whip  thine  own  faults  in  other  men  ?  "  To  con- 
demn our  brother  is  to  condemn  ourselves. 


154 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  3 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  vii.  13-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Ouercome  evil  with  good." — Rom.  xii.  21 

BY  love,  long  suffering,  uprightness  and  purity  of 
life,  the  spirit  of  forgiveness  and  forbearance, 
we  must  meet  and  overcome  the  unkindnesses  and 
injustice  we  may  be  called  upon  to  witness  or  to 
suffer. 

At  Kew  Gardens,  among  the  striking  pictures  of 
Miss  North  is  one  representing  a  fig  tree  which  has 
nearly  strangled  a  poison  tree,  in  a  fork  of  whose 
branches  it  started  life  as  a  seeding  epiphyte.  It 
soon  grew  apace,  and  sent  down  many  roots  to  the 
earth,  where  they  obtained  food  and  grew  in  size, 
finally  enclosing  and  crushing  the  trunk  of  the  nurse- 
tree.  So  evil  is  to  be  overcome  by  the  good.  We 
must  seek  to  master  evil  by  beauty,  love,  and  right- 
eousness, as  God  does. 

To  do  this  we  must  strike  our  roots  deep  in  the 
soil  of  the  truth  of  revelation,  we  must  daily  in 
prayer  refresh  our  branches  in  the  dew  and  rain  of 
heaven,  we  must  grow  in  power  and  grace  in  the 
sunshine  of  the  Lord. 


155 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  4 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xi.  5-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Every  one  that  asketh  receiueth ;  and  he  that  aeeheth  fndeth." 
— Luke  xi.  10 

THE  men  who  succeed  in  life  are  the  men  who 
will  not  be  denied.  They  persist  through 
difficulty,  delay,  and  disaster,  and,  as  a  rule,  finally 
succeed. 

Our  inventions  are  the  fruits  of  indomitable  genius, 
our  discoveries  the  triumphs  of  persistence,  our  science 
and  art  the  splendid  consequences  of  infinite  patience, 
our  national  victories  the  achievements  of  warriors 
who  did  not  know  when  they  were  beaten.  The 
entire  history  of  civilisation  and  progress  is  made  up 
of  the  biographies  of  men  in  all  spheres  who  would 
not  accept  repulse. 

Ought  we  not  to  bring  into  the  realm  of  prayer 
and  service  more  of  this  spirit  of  resolution  and 
persistence?  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth 
violence,  and  men  of  violence  take  it  by  force." 
Ordinary  life  is  a  failure  without  a  measure  of  asser- 
tion, audacity,  perseverance ;  and  the  spiritual  life 
demands  bold  and  positive  elements.  "For  every 
one  that  asketh  receiveth." 


156 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  5 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  xv.  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  every  one  of  us  please  his  neighbour  for  his  good  to  edifica- 
tion."— Rom.  XV.  2 

THE  Apostle  everywhere  reveals  anxiety  that 
the  Church  should  remain  united,  unanimous, 
sympathetic,  and  peaceful.  He  is  not  nearly  so 
troubled  about  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  world 
outside  as  he  is  that  within  the  brotherhood  cordial 
relations  should  be  maintained.  He  knew  that 
nothing  injures  the  Church  like  interior  discord. 

Jungle  fires  are  said  to  be  caused  by  the  dead 
stems  of  the  bamboo  rubbing  together  during  high 
winds,  and  thus  kindling  flame.  So  members  of  the 
Church  who  have  not  much  of  their  Master's  spirit 
provoke  and  agitate  one  another  until  the  forest  of 
the  Lord's  house  is  destroyed  as  by  fire. 

Therefore  we  must  beware  of  dogmatism  and 
masterfulness.  We  must  be  willing  to  take  up  the 
burden  of  the  tender  scruples  of  the  weak  ones,  and 
not  aim  at  consulting  our  own  pleasure  only.  We 
must  try  to  make  our  neighbour  happy,  keeping  in 
view  his  true  interests,  aiming  still  at  building  up  the 
structure  of  his  spiritual  life. 


157 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  6 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xiii.  18-30 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Striue  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate." — Luke  xiii.  24 

THE  world  has  "  postern  gates  "  by  which  we  are 
promised  entrance  to  heaven's  highway ;  there 
is  an  ecclesiastical  "lych  gate,"  and  various  schools 
of  philosophers  and  moralists  have  "  wicket  gates," 
which  are  much  commended  for  convenience  and 
facility,  but  Christ's  strait  gate  and  narrow  way  alone 
lead  to  life.  Christ  Himself  being  "  the  door,"  and 
"  the  way." 

So  strait  and  narrow  that  Vanity  cannot  enter  with 
all  her  bravery  of  pride ;  Selfishness  cannot  thrust  in 
her  swollen  shape  ;  Appetite  fails  to  wedge  in  her 
groaning  table;  Worldliness  is  arrested  because  she 
cannot  smuggle  through  her  darling  muck-rake.  It 
is  the  path  of  sublime  self-renunciation,  of  noble  self- 
denial  ;  of  the  love  of  God  and  man,  and  that  only. 

The  fact  is  eternal  life  is  the  present  life  of  the  soul 
full-grown.  Glory  is  grace  in  fruition.  Heaven  is 
enfolded  in  a  pure  heart,  as  the  royal  oak  is  cradled 
in  the  acorn.  There  is  no  Kingdom  before  us  except 
as  there  is  one  in  us.  The  one  imperative  question  is, 
Is  the  sovereignty  of  Jesus  set  up  now  in  our  soul  ? 


158 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  7 

Scripture  Reading— Jas.  iv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable, 
gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits, 
without  partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy." — Jas.  iii.  17 

WE  often  see  in  men  strange  inconsistency; 
they  are  admirable  in  respect  to  certain 
qualities,  whilst  painfully  destitute  of  others;  they 
reveal  a  good  spirit  in  some  relations,  and  a  bad  one 
in  others  equally  important ;  moral  on  one  point, 
they  are  immoral  on  another.  On  one  branch  fruits 
of  Eden,  on  another  the  apples  of  Sodom ;  they 
mingle  the  river  of  life  with  the  waters  of  the  Dead 
Sea. 

Christianity  does  not  sanction  this  irregularity ;  it 
demands  singleness  of  purpose,  unity  of  character, 
uniformity  of  life. 

True  Christians  are  one  throughout ;  they  reveal 
one  spirit,  obey  one  law,  are  dominated  by  one  master 
passion,  contemplate  one  end.  The  fountain  may  be 
turbid  sometimes,  there  may  be  sour  clusters  on  the 
tree,  but  if  we  are  Christ's  in  sincere  and  full  consecra- 
tion, even  in  our  faults  and  failures,  the  reality  of  our 
goodness  will  make  itself  felt.  We  shall  not  excuse 
our  failures,  but  strive  not  to  repeat  them.  The 
resiilt  will  be,  '*  Without  partiality  and  without 
hypocrisy." 


159 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  8 

Scripture  Reading— i  John  ii.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Hereby  we  do  know  that  ive  know  Him,   if  we  keep  Hia 

commandments." — i  John  ii,  3 

AMONG  moralists,  some  reject  the  feelings  of  the 
heart,  and  are  satisfied  with  mere  obedience ; 
whilst  others  resolve  all  morality  into  the  feeling  of 
love,  and  reject  obedience.  Both  are  wrong;  they 
have  reached  only  half  of  the  truth. 

The  New  Testament  enjoins  the  complete  truth : 
"Whoso  keepeth  His  word,  in  him  verily  hath  the 
love  of  God  been  perfected."  We  must  keep  the 
word,  be  obedient  to  the  commandment,  be  true  both 
to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law.  Christianity  is  a 
system  of  law  ;  its  first  word  is  duty.  But,  at  the 
same  time,  it  demands  and  excites  the  feelings  of  the 
heart.  The  love  of  God  is  the  availing  motive ;  the 
constraining  force  of  the  Christian  life.  The  secret 
of  the  strength  of  the  saints  is  their  consciousness  of 
God's  love  to  them. 

Through  love  we  become  dutiful,  and  through 
obedience  love  is  perfected.  Then  at  last  holiness 
becomes  our  very  nature,  obedience  an  instinct,  duty 
delight.  "  Thy  statutes  become  our  songs  in  the 
house  of  our  pilgrimage." 


160 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  9 

Scripture  Reading — Jas.  i.  16-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Be  ye  doers  of  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,  deceiving  your 
own  selues." — Jas.  i.  22 

SOME  time  ago  a  smart-looking  youth  was 
charged  at  the  Mansion  House  with  having 
stolen  a  ring  from  the  shop  of  a  jeweller  in  Leaden- 
hall  Street.  The  youngster  was  examining  a  tray  of 
rings,  and  contrived  to  slip  one  of  these  into  his 
pocket.  When  apprehended,  he  had  in  his  pocket  a 
card  on  which  was  written,  "  Golden  Rules — truthful- 
ness, honesty,  industry,  sobriety,  and,  above  all,  avoid 
bad  company."  With  an  affectation  of  innocence,  he 
told  the  magistrate  that  he  had  studied  the  "  golden 
rules  "  that  were  found  upon  him,  and  he  was  there- 
fore not  likely  to  commit  a  robbery.  The  magistrate 
considered  that  he  was  after  the  wrong  kind  of  gold, 
and  that  a  further  study  of  those  rules  was  necessary 
in  the  House  of  Correction. 

What  a  picture  of  the  manner  in  which  thousands 
of  us  dupe  ourselves  !  We  have  golden  rules  in  our 
knowledge,  memory,  tongue,  profession,  but  forget 
them,  violate  them,  in  daily  life  and  conduct.  "  De- 
ceiving your  own  selves."  Yes ;  but  not  deluding 
those  who  know  us — certainly  not  deluding  God. 


161 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  10 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  vi.  39-49 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart  bn'ngeth 
forth  that  which  is  good." — Luke  vi.  45 

OUR  Lord  teaches  that  the  heart  determines  the 
life,  and  that  if  the  Hfe  is  to  be  abundant  in 
fruit  the  heart  must  be  rich  in  feeling. 

Do  we  give  due  attention  to  our  interior  life, 
strengthening  our  faith,  feeding  our  love,  renewing 
our  confidence  and  hope? 

Certain  plants  are  known  as  air  plants,  because 
they  merely  cling  to  trees  and  rocks,  without  any 
very  evident  source  of  nutrition,  but  botanists  know 
that  really  they  absorb  matter  that  collects  on  the 
surfaces  to  which  they  attach  themselves. 

There  is  no  living  on  air.  We  must  have  root,  and 
draw  into  ourselves  fresh  life.  Day  by  day  we  must 
replenish  the  treasury  within  if  life  is  to  be  wealthy 
in  good  works.  There  are  ornate  cisterns  of  taste, 
cisterns  of  wrought  gold,  cisterns  embowered  with 
the  roses  of  pleasure  and  fashion,  but  they  all  leak 
and  mock.  As  I  drink  in  the  spirit  of  my  Lord  I 
find  the  life  indeed. 


162 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  11 

Scripture  Reading — i  Cor.  Hi.  9-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  I'a  laid,  which  is 
Jesus  Christ." — i  Cor.  iii.  11 

WE  are  to  be  careful  as  to  where  we  build,  and 
with  what  we  build.  The  Eddystone  Light- 
house was  once  demolished  because  it  did  not  properly 
rest  on  the  rock ;  and  if  we  are  not  built  on  Christ — 
His  doctrine,  merit,  fellowship,  promise — we  must  be 
confounded.  Let  me  be  sure  that  I  am  morticed 
into  the  impregnable  Rock  ! 

Careful  with  what  we  build.  Eddystone  Lighthouse 
perished  once  because  it  was  built  of  wrong  material 
— constructed  of  wood,  it  was  burnt.  How  much 
often  enters  into  the  Christian  creed  that  is  not  jewel 
or  gold — fancies,  speculations,  notions,  utterly  worth- 
less !  How  much  often  enters  into  the  Christian  life 
that  is  superficial,  freakish,  trivial,  inferior,  and 
inharmonious  !  Strange  combinations  of  the  true  and 
false,  the  precious  and  the  paltry,  the  beautiful  and 
the  vulgar,  the  essential  and  the  absurd  ! 

Lord,  grant  me  grace  to  build  on  the  granite — to 
build  on  Thee. 


163 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  12 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  i.  21-31 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"All  power  is  giuen  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth."— Matt. 

xxviii.  18 

JESUS  did  not  treat  slight  ailments,  only  the  most 
profound,  obstinate,  ghastly  maladies.  He  did 
not  concern  Himself  with  simple  aches  and 
pains,  but  proved  His  divine  authority  and  efficacy 
in  distinguishing  leprosy,  palsy,  fever,  blindness,  and 
terrible  psychic  derangements. 

Numbers  of  reformers  are  prepared  to  deal  with 
the  superficial  ailments  of  humanity — with  its  tooth- 
aches, sores  and  scratches ;  but  only  One  dares  attack 
the  deep,  stubborn,  chronic  diseases  of  our  nature, 
the  fundamental  evils  of  the  race.  He  alone  is  the 
grand  physician  of  the  world-lazaretto,  the  healer  of 
the  incurable,  despairing  of  no  man. 

Let  me,  then,  seek  in  Him  for  the  grace  that  shall 
root  out  the  most  malign  morbid  humours  of  the  soul. 
The  darkest  and  deadliest  elements  of  evil  He  can 
rebuke  and  expel.     "  Lord,  that  I  might  be  clean  1 " 


164 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  13 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  i,  32-45 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Who  forgiveth    all   thine   iniquities,    who    healeth  all  thy 

diseases,  " — Ps.  ciii.  3 

"  T  T  E  healed  divers  diseases."  Just  as  physical 
J[  J^  weakness  and  distemper  betray  themselves 
in  manifold  diseases,  so  the  virus  of  sin  in  our  nature 
reveals  itself  in  a  variety  of  irregular  passions  and 
appetites — in  one  falsehood,  in  another  intemperance, 
in  a  third  uncleanness. 

But  the  grace  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  cures  a// 
infirmity.  In  the  power  of  His  Spirit  He  makes 
our  heart  pure,  and  out  of  that  deep  central  health 
we  become  "  whole,"  no  matter  what  the  kind  of  our 
sickness. 

Whilst  potentially,  seminally,  every  species  of  evil 
is  in  us  latent,  lethargic,  yet  depravity  usually  shows 
itself  in  some  one  special  way  determined  by  our 
individual  constitution  and  peculiar  circumstance. 
Whatever  may  be  "  the  sin  that  so  easily  besets  us," 
let  us  take  it  to  Him  who  healeth  "all  manner  of 
sickness." 


165 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  14 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xvii.  11-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Vilere  there  not  ten  cleansed  ?  but  where  are  the  nine  ?"— Luke 
xvii.  17 

"  Ah,  how  guilty  we  are  of  thanklessness  ! 
I  hate  ingratitude  more  in  a  man, 
Than  lying,  vainness,  babbling,  drunkenness, 
Or  any  taint  of  vice  whose  strong  corruption 
Inhabits  our  frail  blood." 

SO  the  great  dramatist,  piercing  to  the  very 
essence  of  this  sin,  finds  it  most  hideous, 
although  we  are  apt  to  think  of  it  so  hghtly. 

But  whilst  I  so  often  forget  God's  benefits,  do  I  not 
most  of  all  overlook  the  grace  so  continually  vouch- 
safed me,  and  by  virtue  of  which  I  am  happily 
restrained  and  saved?  Is  anything  in  life  more 
wonderful  and  precious  than  our  daily  salvation  from 
the  dominion  and  power  of  sin  ?  To  think  that  my 
Master,  by  His  grace,  word,  and  discipline,  is  con- 
tinually cleansing  me  from  the  foul  leprosy  of  sin ! 
This  is  surely  the  grandest  boon  of  all  ! 

Do  I  justly  recognise  this  daily  salvation  ?  Do  I 
glorify  God  for  it  with  a  full  heart?  Do  I  count  it 
my  chief  blessing  and  celebrate  it  as  such  ? 


166 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  15 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  x.  46-52 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God." — Heb.  xi.  6 

'"T^HY  faith  hath  made  thee  whole."  In  the 
J^  miracles  of  Christ  faith  is  the  pivot  on  which 
everything  turns.  If  the  suppliant  can  put  a  true 
large  trust,  or  even  a  true  trembling  trust,  in  the 
Redeemer,  nothing  is  impossible ;  where  there  is  no 
faith  there  are  not  many  mighty  works. 

"Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God." 
That  need  be  no  mystery.  Whom  can  we  please 
without  faith?  Will  a  parent  be  pleased  with  a  child 
that  fails  to  trust  him  ?  Will  a  captain  be  satisfied 
with  a  crew  and  passengers  who  do  not  believe  in 
their  pilot? 

We  have  every  conceivable  ground  to  rest  implicitly 
in  the  promise  of  God.  We  have  in  all  terrestrial 
things.  Does  He  not  daily  fulfil  His  word  and  reveal 
His  faithfulness  ?  And  have  we  not  firm  ground  for 
confidence  in  His  perfecting  grace  and  promised 
glory?  Preserve  my  soul;  for  I  am  bound  to  Thee 
by  the  tie  of  covenant  love. 


167 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  16 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  xxxv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an  hart." — Isa.  xxxv.  6 

WHAT  richness  and  fulness  of  blessing  in 
Christ!  He  restores  the  soul  by  His 
matchless  grace,  and  then  joy  is  possible  —  nay, 
inevitable. 

We  have  secular  writers  who  confidently  exhort 
us  to  be  joyful.  They  beseech  us  to  put  on  holiday 
attire,  to  crown  ourselves  with  roses,  to  eat,  drink 
and  be  merry,  without  once  attempting  to  deal  with 
the  interior  disease  and  discord  which  are  of  the 
essence  of  our  misery. 

Think  of  exhorting  captives  in  prison  to  be  merry ; 
first  they  want  liberty.  Think  of  beseeching  the 
patients  in  hospital  to  enjoy  themselves ;  first  they 
require  health.  Think  of  summoning  lunatics  in  the 
asylum  to  rational  gladness ;  they  first  want  the 
restoration  of  a  right  mind. 

Our  Lord  goes  to  the  root  of  the  matter;  He 
cleanses  the  heart  of  the  foul  stuff,  of  its  discontents 
and  passions.  Then  come  sparkling  eyes,  ravished 
ears,  then  the  once  lame  leaps  as  a  hart,  and  the 
tongue  of  the  erstwhile  dumb  sings. 


1 68 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  17 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  ciii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Himself  took  our  infirmities  and  bare  our  sicfinesses." — Matt. 
viii.  17 

JEREMIAH  reminded  sinning,  suffering  Israel, 
"Thou  hast  no  healing  medicines."  And  again, 
"  In  vain  shalt  thou  use  many  medicines,  for 
thou  shalt  not  be  cured."  In  no  sphere  is  there  so 
much  quackery  as  in  the  moral  and  religious  sphere. 
Many  medicines,  but  no  healing  medicines ;  many 
physicians,  but  no  real  cures. 

In  some  of  our  hospitals  hang  fine  pictures,  but 
nobody  expects  them  to  cure  agues,  fevers,  cancers, 
and  similar  maladies  ;  so  the  creations  of  art,  the 
charms  of  literature,  the  prescriptions  of  philosophy, 
the  nostrums  of  politics  will  not  avail  against  the 
deep,  rancorous,  passionate  workings  and  outgoings 
of  the  fallen  soul. 

What  a  healer,  restorer,  comforter  is  the  Lord ! 
Here  is  the  hope  of  mankind,  and  mine.  Nothing 
meets  my  case  except  His  words  which  are  spirit 
and  life,  His  love  and  grace  which  strengthen  the 
soul,  His  salvation  which  saveth  to  the  uttermost. 


169 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  18 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  viii.  18-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  maheth  the  storm  a  calm,  so  that  the  waves  thereof  are 
still." — Ps.  cvii.  29 

IN  the  religion  of  Egypt  a  conspicuous  place  was 
given  to  what  was  known  as  the  Boat  of  the 
Sun.  This  vessel  was  supposed  to  be  built  with 
magic  material,  it  carried  the  Sun-god,  and  whatever 
souls  embarked  in  it  were  conveyed  safely  through 
the  perils  of  unknown  worlds  to  a  haven  of  final 
safety  and  happiness. 

This  mythological  boat  shadows  forth  a  glorious 
truth,  which  is  the  consolation  and  hope  of  Christ's 
people.  To  sail  in  the  same  boat  with  Him  is  the 
strength  and  assurance  of  the  believer  in  life  and 
death  ;  we  cannot  perish  when  He  is  the  pilot. 

The  highest  ambition  of  the  Egyptian  was  to 
obtain  a  passage  in  the  Boat  of  the  Sun ;  what  harm 
of  fire  and  flood  could  they  suffer  with  the  Sun-god 
on  board !  O  joy  to  be  near  Christ,  to  be  shut  up 
with  Him,  in  Him,  as  Noah  was  in  the  Ark,  to 
share  His  infinite  tranquillity!  In  the  fiercest  storm 
with  Him  we  are  in  port 


170 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  19 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  cvii.  1-3 1 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  They  cry  unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  He  saueth  them 
out  of  their  distresses." — Ps.  cvii.  19 

WE  are  apt  to  forget  the  benign  design  of  the 
storms  which  agitate  the  ocean.  Whatever 
disasters  are  implied  by  the  storm,  a  protracted  calm 
is  most  pernicious :  stagnating,  the  very  sea  begins 
to  rot. 

Quiet  epochs  often  tend  to  enervate  and  corrupt 
society.  Pacific  conditions  often  develop  the  atheistic 
and  materialistic  temper,  whilst  public  calamities 
give  to  the  mind  a  strong  impulse  towards  religion. 
Neither  are  long  periods  of  rest  and  prosperity  best 
for  the  individual,  so  far  as  his  highest  interests  are 
concerned. 

"  Then  I  said,  I  shall  die  in  my  nest."  Job's  words 
contained  more  truth  than  at  the  moment  he  under- 
stood. All  that  is  grand  in  a  man  is  apt  to  die  in 
a  downy  nest.  Therefore  it  was  that  God  broke  up 
the  patriarch's  nest  and  sent  him  flying  before  the 
tempest. 


171 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  20 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  viii.  26-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Shew  how  great  things  God  hath  done  unto  t/ree."— Luke 
viii.  39 

THE  miracles  effected  by  Christ  in  the  natural 
world  are  less  wonderful  than  those  wrought 
by  Him  in  the  sphere  of  the  human  spirit  and 
character.  It  was  great  to  hush  the  wrath  of  the 
sea,  it  is  greater  to  compose  the  discords  of  the 
spirit.  Once  the  fashionable  doctrine  declared 
that  we  were  born  good,  but  the  modern  scientist 
has  discovered  in  us  animal  appetites  and  passions. 

And  the  New  Testament  teaches,  what  the  uni- 
versal consciousness  confirms,  that  not  only  does 
the  earthly  and  sensual  work  within  us,  but  also 
the  devilish. 

"  He  was  in  the  wilderness  forty  days  tempted  of 
Satan ;  and  He  was  with  the  wild  beasts."  Our 
Lord  encountered  both,  conquered  both.  He  can 
cast  out  of  my  life  every  relic  of  debasing  beast 
and  unclean  fiend,  and  make  me  a  partaker  of  the 
divine  nature. 


172 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  21 

Scripture  Reading— Eph.  u. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"By  grace  are  ye  aaued  through  faith."— Y-vn.  ii.  8 

WE  are  no  longer  saved  by  attention  to  carnal 
ordinances,  as  the  ancient  Jews  were.  Those 
ordinances  were  instituted  as  a  test  of  obedience, 
but  that  time  of  arbitrary  training  is  past.  We  are 
not  saved  by  ecclesiastical  observances,  good  as  they 
may  be  in  their  place.  We  are  not  even  saved 
primarily  by  moral  conduct,  essential  as  such  conduct 
may  ultimately  be. 

The  confidence  of  the  heart  in  God  is  the  one 
condition  of  salvation  in  this  evangelical  age.  Con- 
fidence in  God  is  the  living  principle  of  obedience. 
Confidence  in  His  love,  in  his  redeeming  love;  con- 
fidence in  the  faithfulness  of  His  word  and  in  His 
dealings  with  us;  confidence  in  His  declared  promise 
of  life  and  immortality.  Out  of  this  trust  of  the 
heart  grows  everything  that  is  dutiful  and  beautiful. 

What  a  ground  of  confidence  we  have  in  God's 
promise  of  mercy  and  salvation  in  Christ  I 


173 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWM 


June  22 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  vii.  36-50 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee;  go  in  peace." — Luke  vii.  50 

THE  badness  of  the  good  comes  out  in  the 
Pharisee.  Simon  was  outwardly  the  righteous 
one.  Accepted  by  the  people  as  such,  flattered  by 
himself  as  such,  and  yet  how  much  coldness,  arti- 
ficiality, and  heartlessness  was  evinced  by  him  !  He 
thought  himself  gold,  and  yet  the  Trier  of  hearts 
revealed  him  as  utterly  loveless — that  is,  utterly 
worthless.  Let  me  not  mistake  the  whiteness  of 
whitewash  for  the  whiteness  of  the  great  white  throne. 

The  goodness  of  the  bad  is  suggested  by  the 
woman.  Judging  by  appearances,  she  was  one  to 
be  shunned,  and  yet  in  her  heart  the  spirit  of  true 
holiness  was  dawning. 

The  goodness  which  begins  in  deep  sorrow  for 
sin,  which  discovers  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  and 
trusts  in  Him,  which  demonstrates  its  genuineness 
in  a  new  self-sacrificing  life,  is  infinitely  better  than 
the  social  etiquette  or  ecclesiastical  propriety  which 
knows  nothing  of  the  love  of  God  or  man. 


174 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  23 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xix.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost." — Luke  xix.  lo 

THE  readiness  of  Zacchaeus  for  the  blessing 
must  strike  us,  "  He  ran  on  before."  He 
made  haste  and  came  down."  If  we  had  looked  on 
the  publican  that  morning  we  should  have  thought 
him  the  most  unlikely  of  men  to  become  the  host 
of  Jesus  Christ,  yet  he  received  Him  joyfully. 

We  cannot  penetrate  to  our  brother's  conscience 
and  heart,  and  where  the  carnal  eye  can  see  only 
thorns  and  briars  God's  eye  beholds  "  fields  white 
unto  the  harvest." 

The  readiness  of  Christ  to  confer  the  blessing. 
"When  Jesus  came  to  the  place  he  looked  up."  He 
knows  where  the  true  penitent  awaits  Him.  "And 
said  unto  Zacchseus,  make  haste,  and  come  down." 
It  is  all  a  matter  of  haste.  No  time  for  delay,  no 
waiting  for  a  convenient  season,  no  putting  off  until 
to-morrow.  "To-day  I  must  abide  at  thy  house." 
"  To-day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house." 


175 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  24 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xv.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners." — i  Tim. 
i-  IS 

THE  inwardness  of  Pharisaism  was  that  it  ex- 
cluded the  sinner,  it  was  without  sympathy 
and  sacrifice.  Amongst  animals  in  their  wild  state, 
if  one  is  injured,  sick  or  dying,  its  companions 
forthwith  forsake  it,  or  worry  it  to  death.  Savages 
often  reveal  a  similar  truculence. 

The  sign  of  civilisation  is  growing  sympathy  with 
misfortune.  What  wild  beasts  do  in  the  natural 
world  Pharisees  do  in  the  social  and  moral ;  they 
are  greedy  to  spoil  the  castaway  life. 

The  essence  of  the  Christian  faith  is  the  direct 
contrary,  a  passion  to  recover  the  castaway  life. 
It  has  faith  in  human  nature  at  its  very  worst,  and 
honours  it  in  its  lowest  estate. 

The  righteousness  of  the  Pharisee  was  self-con- 
tained, proud,  selfish,  unspiritual ;  the  righteousness 
which  is  of  God  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  is  spiritual, 
humble,  dependent  upon  God,  full  of  the  spirit  of 
compassion  and  sacrifice  towards  them  that  are  out 
of  the  way. 


176 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  25 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  xvi.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Ye  seek  Jesus  of  Nazareth  which  was  crucified :  He  is  risen  ; 
He  is  not  here." — Mark  xvi.  6 

THE  thought  of  resurrection  and  immortality  was 
in  the  heart  of  mankind  from  the  very  be- 
ginning. When  the  mummy  of  a  famous  beauty, 
one  of  the  queens  of  Egypt,  was  discovered  in  the 
tombs,  it  held  in  its  withered  hand  a  plant  of  the 
rose  of  Jericho,  a  symbol  of  the  resurrection.  This 
queen  lived  and  died  long  before  the  coming  of 
Christ.  So  the  great  nations,  even  whilst  darkness 
covered  the  earth,  dreamed  of  a  future  life  and  died 
in  the  hope  of  it. 

Our  Lord  converted  that  dream  into  reality:  ever 
since  His  abundantly  witnessed  resurrection,  the 
hope  of  immortality  has  been  one  of  the  most 
influential  facts  in  the  experience  of  the  race.  The 
Rose  of  Sharon  means  infinitely  more  than  the  Rose 
of  Jericho — the  one  history,  demonstration,  assurance  ; 
the  other  suggestion,  speculation,  and  the  mere 
poetry  of  life.  We  need  a  great  fact  to  confront 
death  with,  and  we  have  that  fact  glorious  and  in- 
disputable in  the  empty  grave. 


M  177 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  26 

Scripture  Reading— John  xviii.  28-40 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"My  Kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."— Johjj  xviii.  36 

HISTORY  shows  that  the  extinction  of  a  nation 
politically  may  yet  give  it  a  spiritualised 
existence  far  wider  and  more  influential  than  when 
it  figured  historically. 

Ceasing  to  have  "  a  local  habitation  and  a  name," 
the  genius  of  Greece  took  possession  of  the  world. 
Rome  perished  politically,  but  perishing  nationally 
it  informed  all  modern  civilisation  with  its  spirit. 

Titus  dissolved  the  Jewish  State,  but,  destroyed 
corporeally,  it  became  a  greater  force  in  its  moral 
doctrine  than  when  it  was  a  world-power  in  the 
reigns  of  David  and  Solomon. 

So  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord ; 
His  Spirit  went  forth  through  all  the  earth.  His 
words  and  grace  unto  the  ends  of  the  world.  Christ 
has  vanished  from  our  sight;  we  know  Him  no 
longer  after  the  flesh ;  He  has  dropped  all  that  was 
physical,  local,  relative,  circumstantial,  but  only  that 
He  might  fill  all  things.  In  the  moment  of  perishing 
He  triumphed.  His  spiritual  Kingdom  is  supreme, 
universal,  everlasting. 


178 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  27 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  v.  35-43 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Be  not  afraid,  only  believe." — Mark  v.  36 

WE  see  here  what  faith  means — a  venturing, 
trusting,  expecting  beyond  all  carnal  appear- 
ances. "  Thy  daughter  is  dead  ;  why  troublest  thou 
the  Master  any  further?"  Here  speaks  the  world. 
Up  to  a  certain  point  blessing  is  possible  and  may 
be  expected,  but  that  point  reached,  all  is  hopeless. 

Within  the  understood  laws  of  nature,  help,  relief, 
salvation  are  considered  possible ;  but  if  the  laws  of 
nature  forbid,  "why  trouble  the  Master  any  further?  " 
If  a  person  is  nobly  born,  comes  into  the  world 
with  a  fine  disposition,  he  may  be  nobly  built ;  but 
if  the  law  of  heredity  has  determined  a  man  basely, 
"why  trouble  the  Master  any  further?"  If  we  turn 
to  virtue  in  early  life,  much  may  be  made  of  us ;  but 
when,  having  lived  long  in  sin,  we  have  become  a 
bundle  of  bad,  tyrannical  habits,  "why  trouble  the 
Master  any  further  ?  " 

Christ  saveth  unto  "the  uttermost  all  who  come 
unto  God  by  Him";  and  it  is  best  to  leave  Christ 
to  determine  where  the  "uttermost"  lies.  What  is 
impossible  with  men  is  easy  to  Omnipotent  grace. 


179 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  28 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  ix.  17-29 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Lord,  I  believe ;  help  Thou  mine  unbelief." — Mark  ix.  24 

FAITH  for  our  sons  who  occasion  us  trouble. 
How  many  godly  fathers  have  sons  suffering 
from  the  moral  malady  as  the  youth  here  suffered 
physically  and  mentally !  That  the  very  best  of  men 
are  afflicted  by  children  wayward,  undevout,  wicked 
beyond  the  common,  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  life. 
"  They  are  children  in  whom  there  is  no  faith." 

But  we  must  not  despair  if  this  should  happen  to 
be  our  sorrowful  fortune.  The  Church  has  not 
succeeded,  yet  resolutely  bringing  them  to  Christ  in 
believing  supplication  they  may  still  be  saved. 
Their  recovery  may  gladden  our  later  years.  Or 
after  we  have  gone  they  may  return. 

"  If  Thou  canst ! "  With  importunity  and  tears  we 
must  commend  our  children  to  the  mercy  and  grace 
of  God,  nothing  doubting  His  willingness  and  power 
to  save.  Let  us  be  sure  the  end  will  justify  our  faith 
and  patience. 


180 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  29 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  ix.  35-x.  15 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand."— Matt.  x.  7 

AS  the  Lord  sent  forth  the  Twelve,  He  is  ever 
sending  forth  messengers  whom  He  has 
chosen  to  forward  His  great  work.  A  few  are  greatly 
gifted,  for  the  most  part  they  are  simple  souls.  Of 
the  major  number  of  the  original  disciples  we  do  not 
hear  again,  but  let  us  remember  that  "  real  power  is 
not  measured  by  the  noise  which  men  make." 

The  essence  of  the  commission  entrusted  to  the 
disciples  was  their  message.  "  The  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  at  hand."  They  were  to  do  good  of 
various  kinds,  but  the  medical,  social  and  philan- 
thopical  were  secondary  to  the  evangelical  and 
spiritual. 

We  must  execute  our  commission  in  the  spirit  of 
pure  love.  "  Freely  ye  received,  freely  give."  It  has 
been  finely  said  that  "  good  hearts  feel  the  obligation 
of  doing  good  more  than  men  feel  the  other  neces- 
sities of  life."  Certainly  the  Christ-like  heart  feels 
this  overmastering  necessity. 


181 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


June  30 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  x.  23-33 

Thought  for  the  Day 
'He  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved." — Matt.  x.  22 

IN  the  East  is  found  a  wood  so  fragrant  that  when 
buried  feet  deep  in  the  earth  it  yet  continues  to 
fill  the  air  with  sweetness  :  the  Christian  spirit  must 
similarly  make  itself  felt,  however  hidden  and  silent. 

But  we  are  not  only  to  make  ourselves  felt  in 
suggestion  and  insinuation,  we  must  stand  prepared 
on  occasion  to  avow  Christ  at  all  risks,  to  witness  for 
Him  whatever  it  may  cost.  For  our  own  sake,  our 
brother's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  we  must  tell  out 
what  a  Saviour  we  have  found,  or  the  stifled  truth 
will  be  revenged  upon  us  in  subtle  and  painful 
ways. 

It  often  requires  a  courage  not  less  than  sublime, 
as  well  as  a  most  sublime  wisdom,  to  witness  for 
Christ  in  the  familiar  haunts  of  life.  But  the  oppor- 
tunities for  martyrdom  are  getting  rare,  and  if  it 
should  happen  to  cost  much  in  feeling  to  speak  for 
Him  let  me  not  hesitate. 


182 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  1 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  x.  i-i6 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you." — Luke  x.  9 

"  ''  I  ^  H E  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto 
J_  you,"  The  great  privilege.  To  live  in  this 
last  age  is  to  be  highly  favoured  amongst  men. 
That  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  preached  in  our  streets, 
pressed  on  our  acceptance,  and  that  it  touches  our 
heart,  is  the  distinguishing  privilege  of  our  age, 
nation,  and  life. 

The  great  refusal.  We  are  always  missing  gracious 
visitations,  losing  splendid  prizes,  trifling  away  rare 
talents  and  opportunities,  but  to  fail  of  the  grace  of 
God  is  the  saddest  disaster  of  all.  How  solemnly 
our  Lord  indicates  the  awfulness  of  the  rejection  ! 

"  I  have  touched  the  gold,"  cried  a  diver,  who  came 
up  from  the  wreck  of  an  Australian  vessel  lost  on  our 
coast ;  and  that  was  all,  for  the  treasure  was  never 
recovered.  Is  it  to  be  thus  with  us  in  relation  to  the 
grandest  thing  of  all  ?  Is  the  kingdom  to  come  near 
us,  and  yet  are  we  to  miss  it  ?  Are  we  only  to  touch 
the  gold  ? 


183 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  2 

Scripture  Reading— Isa.  Ixv.  17-25 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  am  with  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  to  deliver  thee."— Jer.  1.  8 

"  l\/rO^EOVER,  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
IVl  unto  me,  saying,  Jeremiah,  what  seest 
thou  ?  And  I  said,  I  see  a  rod  of  an  almond  tree." 
A  wakeful  (i.e.,  early)  tree.  "Then  said  the  Lord 
unto  me,  Thou  hast  well  seen ;  for  I  will  hasten  My 
word  to  perform  it."  "  I  am  wakeful  over  My  word." 
Heaven  is  ready,  waiting,  anxious  to  bless.  Men  are 
ready  for  the  blessing. 

To  our  eye  the  vineyard  is  often  of  most  un- 
promising aspect — we  look  upon  the  work  of  God  as 
upon  a  cactus,  slow  flowering,  late  flowering,  flowering 
after  a  century ;  when  we  ought  to  regard  it  as  an 
almond  tree,  the  harbinger  of  spring,  that  unfolds  its 
blossoms  long  before  other  trees  put  forth  leaf  and 
flower. 

God  is  working  in  the  hearts  of  men,  even  when  to 
the  carnal  eye  they  appear  hopeless.  Do  not  feel, 
brother  labourer,  that  you  are  working  on  cacti. 
That  naughty  child,  perverse  scholar,  rough  class, 
wild  district,  barbarous  tribe,  is  yet  an  almond  tree ; 
and  working  in  faith  and  love  it  may  suddenly  sur- 
prise you  with  blooms  and  clusters 


184 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  3 

Scripture  Reading— John  iv.  27-38 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give." — Matt.  x.  8 

'"TT^HE  fields  are  white  already  unto  harvest." 
J[  Here  our  Lord  touches  the  same  truth  as 
that  suggested  by  Jeremiah's  "  rod  of  an  almond 
tree."  The  Spirit  of  God  working  on  the  hearts  of 
men  and  making  them  ready  for  the  heavenly 
blessing.  The  Spirit  is  before  us,  and  there  is  far 
more  susceptibility  in  men  to  gospel  truth  than  we 
suspect. 

"  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give."  If  there  is 
this  readiness  even  in  the  most  unlikely  let  us  put 
it  to  the  proof  by  immediate  appeal. 

The  scent  of  flowers  is  delightful  whilst  they  freely 
yield  it  on  the  air,  and  whilst  they  delight  they 
bloom ;  but  if  they  are  placed  under  a  bell-glass  so 
that  the  atmosphere  becomes  saturated  with  their 
own  scented  exhalations,  they  poison  themselves  in  a 
few  days  or  even  hours. 

Let  our  lip  and  life  radiate  the  truth  and  grace  of 
Christ,  for  if  we  think  to  imprison  it  in  our  own 
breast,  unspoken  and  unrevealed,  it  will  destroy  itself 
as  the  flower  is  suffocated  by  its  own  imprisoned 
perfume. 


185 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  4 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xi.  1-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  18  he,  whosoeuer  shall  not  be  offended  in  Me." — Matt. 
xi.  6 

IN  judging  others  we  unconsciously  judge  ourselves, 
and  in  some  instances  this  is  specially  the  case. 
William  Hazlitt,  in  his  essay  on  T/ie  CJiaracter  of 
Burke,  makes  this  remark:  "It  has  always  been  with 
me  a  test  of  the  sense  and  candour  of  any  one 
belonging  to  the  opposite  party  whether  he  allowed 
Burke  to  be  a  great  man." 

But  what  a  test  of  personal  character  is  our  estimate 
of  Jesus,  His  character,  doctrine,  and  work !  We 
have  critics  who  sit  in  judgment  upon  our  Lord, 
and  affect  to  discover  His  limitations,  errors,  and 
frailties,  little  thinking  all  the  while  that  they  are 
convicting  themselves. 

"  Blessed  is  he  whosoever  shall  not  be  offended  in 
Me."  Whenever  we  differ  from  Him  let  us  be  sure 
that  He  is  right  and  we  are  wrong.  Whenever  we 
suspect  Him  we  detect  false  elements  in  ourselves. 
The  more  fully  and  delicately  we  harmonise  with 
His  spirit,  teachings,  and  method,  the  nearer  are  we 
to  perfection. 


186 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  5 

Scripture  Reading— John  x.  22-42 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  works  that  I  do  in  My  Father's  name,  they  bear  witness 
of  Me."— John  x.  25 

JESUS  does  not  make  the  question  of  His 
Messiahship  to  turn  upon  what  is  abstract  and 
controversial,  but  entirely  upon  the  undeniable 
fact  of  the  beneficence  of  His  action. 

The  present  day  is  specially  one  in  which  we  place 
emphasis  on  the  actual  result,  the  practical  effect 
of  doctrine  and  philosophy.  Writing  to  Emerson, 
Carlyle  confesses,  "  I  grow  daily  to  honour  facts  more 
and  more  and  theory  less  and  less." 

And  this  is  exactly  the  position  of  thinkers  to- 
day. How  far  does  this  doctrine  help  us?  How 
does  this  system  practically  advantage  us?  What 
are  the  substantial  fruits  of  this  theory  ? 

With  what  absolute  confidence  can  we  submit  the 
faith  of  Christ  to  this  ordeal?  It  never  touches 
personal  character  except  to  ennoble  it.  It  never 
enters  a  cottage  without  making  it  a  palace.  It 
never  acts  upon  a  community  or  nation  without 
proving  itself  the  blessing  of  blessings. 


187 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  6 

Scripture  Reading — Mal.  iii.  i-6 

Thought  for  tht^.  Day 

"He  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi  and  purge  them  as  gold  and 
silver." — Mal.  iii.  3 

GOD  sent  many  ambassadors  to  His  people  to 
prepare  them  for  the  advent  of  the  Messiah, 
but  the  Baptist,  with  his  stern,  searching  ministry, 
was  pre-eminently  the  forerunner  of  the  Lord  of 
truth  and  righteousness. 

The  end  of  Christ's  coming  was  to  purify.  "  He 
shall  sit  as  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver.  He  shall 
purify  the  sons  of  Levi."  How  much  dross  is  there 
in  the  people  of  God,  how  their  very  virtues,  prayers 
and  good  works  are  mingled  with  inferior  elements ! 
It  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  given  in  Christ  to 
expel  the  latest  atom  of  the  base  and  bad. 

"  And  like  fuller's  soap."  A  quaint  Quaker  de- 
scribed certain  formal,  inconsistent  professors  as  being 
"starched  before  they  were  washed."  Christ,  too, 
has  His  eye  on  these,  and  seeks  to  work  in  them 
that  holiness  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord. 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  7 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xi.  20-30 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Take  My  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  of  Me." — Matt.  xi.  29 

IN  Christ  we  enjoy  supreme  spiritual  privilege, 
and  to  be  deaf  to  His  words,  to  deny  His  call, 
to  resist  His  grace,  is  to  make  our  sin  red  like 
crimson,  and  to  bring  upon  ourselves  supreme  retri- 
bution. Chorazin,  Bethsaida,  Capernaum,  have  been 
blotted  out  from  under  the  sun,  not  a  fragment  of 
them  survives,  and  the  souls  that  dwelt  there  are 
reserved  to  a  judgment  more  severe  than  that  which 
awaits  the  guiltiest  pagan. 

According  to  the  intensity  of  the  light  is  the  depth 
of  the  shade,  the  white  limelight  makes  the  blackest 
shadows  ;  and  according  to  the  fulness  of  our  rejected 
privilege  shall  be  the  emphasis  of  our  condemnation. 

Let  me  remember  the  immense  obligation  of  living 
in  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  Where  sin  abounded 
grace  doth  much  more  abound ;  but  abounding  grace 
despised  makes  penalty  much  more  to  abound.  Oh, 
for  a  contrite  heart  and  a  life  fully  surrendered  to 
the  gracious  Master  1 


189 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  8 

Scripture  Reading — Ezek.  xxviii.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Pride  goeth  before  destruction,  and  an  haugtity  spirit  before 
a  fall."— Frov.  xvi.  i8 

THE  immense  pride  and  satisfaction  of  the 
human  heart  is  depicted  in  self-glorious  Tyre. 
A  poor  lunatic  mastered  by  dazzling  delusions  is 
always  a  pathetic  spectacle.  He  reckons  himself  an 
oracle,  apes  the  attitudes  of  conquerors,  revels  in 
phantom  millions,  mistakes  his  rags  for  purple,  and 
with  straws  crowns  himself  a  king. 

How  infinitely  more  sad  is  the  human  soul  boasting 
its  wisdom,  strength  and  virtue,  in  the  sight  of  God ! 
For  such  God  can  do  nothing  except  pity  them, 
Christ  can  do  nothing  except  weep  over  them. 

Let  me  beware  of  this  spirit  of  blind  conceit  and 
self-sufficiency,  which  excludes  every  great  blessing 
that  Christ  has  to  give.  Let  me  be  teachable,  con- 
scious of  my  weakness,  ever  dependent  upon  God, 
my  contrite  heart  and  lowly  walk  established  by  His 
grace.  Then  will  the  Divine  Spirit  give  me  true 
light,  power,  riches,  righteousness,  peace  and  joy. 


190 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  9 

Scripture  Reading— Isa.  i.  1-9 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  have  nourished  and  brought  up  children,  and  they  have 
rebelled  against  Me." — Isa.  i.  2 

SHALL  we  ever  understand  the  mystery  of  sin 
— its  black  ingratitude,  its  horrible  treason,  its 
inexplicable  infatuation,  its  tragic  folly  and  woe! 
Yet  are  we  all  more  or  less  under  its  awful  power 
and  guilt. 

And  because  of  these  things  comes  the  wrath  of 
God  upon  the  children  of  disobedience.  It  is  not 
volcanoes,  earthquakes,  and  blizzards  that  desolate, 
deform,  and  destroy  the  earth,  it  is  the  wickedness 
of  the  people ;  all  the  rest  is  a  trifle  compared  with 
the  consuming  power  of  passion,  the  plague  of  un- 
righteousness, the  retribution  of  sin. 

And  yet  our  God  remembers  mercy,  or  we  should 
have  been  as  Sodom,  we  should  have  been  like 
Gomorrah.  Shall  we  ever  understand  the  mystery 
of  Divine  love?  The  infinite  patience,  the  inex- 
haustible long-suffering,  the  measureless  clemency, 
we  shall  never  comprehend.  Let  the  love  and  mercy 
of  God  move  me,  melt  me,  awe  me  into  obedience. 


191 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  10 

Scripture  Reading — i  Cor.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lorcl."—i  Cor.  i.  31 

NOTHING  meets  the  need  of  sinful,  perishing 
man  like  the  truth  and  grace  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Sanctuary  of  New  Pompeii 
has  a  garden  filled  with  roses.  These  roses  are 
pulled  to  pieces  leaf  by  leaf,  dried,  and  made  up  in 
little  packets  sent  to  the  sick.  The  sick  person 
swallows  them,  and  is  supposed  to  recover.  The 
rose-leaf  cure  is  celebrated  throughout  Italy. 

But  really  the  rose-leaf  cure  is  celebrated  through- 
out the  world.  **  They  have  healed  the  hurt  of  the 
daughter  of  My  people  slightly."  What  vain  philo- 
sophies, tricks  of  politics,  quackeries  of  culture,  are 
supposed  to  cure  the  deep,  destroying  maladies  of 
our  bosom ! 

Only  one  rose  has  the  virtue  of  sovereign  healing. 
The  Rose  of  Sharon  alone  cures  the  sickness  of  the 
soul.  He  brings  into  our  life  strength  and  beauty. 
Let  me  hold  Him  closely  to  my  heart  and  He  shall 
fill  my  life  with  sweetness,  loveliness,  and  delight. 
"  He  that  glorieth,  let  him  glory  in  the  Lord." 


192 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  11 

Scripture  Reading— John  vi.  35-45 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Him  that  cometh  to  Me,  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."— John 
vi.  37 

HOW  the  note  of  universal,  undistinguishing 
love  sounds  throughout  this  discourse  of  our 
Lord's !  Human  nature  alternates  between  widely 
removed  extremes.  On  the  one  side  vaingloriousness, 
on  the  other  side  remorse  and  despair.  The  Gospel 
sharply  rebukes  the  first,  and  then  wooingly  seeks  to 
excite  within  the  contrite  breast  courage  and  hope. 

The  ancient  Romans  recognised  what  they  called 
"  inexpiable  crimes."  But  Christianity  knows  no 
"inexpiable"  offences;  it  leads  us  perpetually  from 
repentance  to  love,  and  from  love  to  repentance,  it 
discloses  a  Mediator  exercising  infinite  mercy  and 
forgiveness. 

Yet  Christianity,  whilst  recognising  no  single 
transgression  as  "inexpiable,"  yet  brands  as  damning 
sin  the  deliberate  and  final  rejection  of  the  free  grace 
of  the  Son  of  God.  "  Of  sin,  because  they  believe 
not  on  Me,"  Grace  is  a  golden  mystery  that 
welcomes  the  chief  of  sinners. 


N  193 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  12 

Scripture  Reading— Isa.  Iv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Come  unto  Me,  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I 
will  giue  you  rest." — Matt.  xi.  28 

"  A  FEAST  of  things  purified,"  as  Isaiah  speaks  in 
/^  another  place,  is  here  spread  by  the  hand  of 
Him  who  is  the  great  Master  of  feasts.  He  who 
knows  best  how  to  spread  a  table,  as  we  see  in  nature, 
excels  Himself  as  He  spreads  the  banquet  of 
redeeming  grace. 

It  is  substantial.  The  Orientals  have  a  saying : 
"  All  that  is  not  bread  is  vanity."  No  mockery 
about  the  provision  in  Christ,  it  satisfies  the  longing 
soul  and  fills  the  hungry  soul  with  goodness.  It  is 
rich  and  overflowing. 

There  is  a  book  entitled  Crumbs  Swept  Up,  but 
that  title  will  not  do  for  the  New  Testament.  The 
fatted  calf  is  killed.  The  flagons  of  love  are  filled  to 
the  brim,  the  cup  runs  over  with  strengthening  and 
refreshment. 

It  is  free.  No  other  qualification  is  demanded 
beyond  that  we  hunger  and  thirst.  "And  shall  1 
perish  with  hunger  ?  " 


194 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  13 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xii.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  Son  of  Man  is  Lord  even  of  the  Sabbath   day.^' — Matt. 


XII. 


THE  standing  danger  of  the  devout  lies  between 
the  exaggeration  of  ordinances  and  their 
neglect. 

Christ  is  greater  than  the  temple,  but  He  does  not 
therefore  discredit  it.  He  emphasises  its  high  signi- 
ficance as  the  meeting  place  of  spirits — the  Spirit  of 
God  and  the  broken  and  contrite  spirit  of  man. 
Christ  is  Lord  of  the  Sabbath.  He  does  not,  however, 
abolish  it,  only  confirms  it  by  showing  its  larger 
spiritual  meaning. 

So  long  as  the  letter  expresses  the  spirit,  revere 
both ;  if  the  letter  obscures  the  spirit,  be  loyal  to  the 
latter.  Men  are  more  than  institutions,  as  the  soul  is 
more  than  the  body. 

The  English  Government  maintains  in  force  a 
severe  code  respecting  the  landing  of  aliens  in  this 
country,  but  the  other  day,  when  an  emigrant  ship 
took  fire,  the  Customs  authorities  at  once  waived  all 
regulations  and  welcomed  the  rescued. 


195 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  14 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  Ixxxir. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

" Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  house:  they  will  be  still 
praising  Thee." — Ps.  Ixxxiv.  4 

WE  sometimes  hear  the  plea  that  God  is  every- 
where, and  that  we  can  see  and  worship 
Him  in  the  green  fields  as  well  as  in  a  church.  It  is 
true  that  we  can  keep  the  Sabbath  and  worship  amid 
trees  and  flowers,  yet  is  there  a  special  blessing  in 
spending  the  sacred  day  where  God  has  put  His 
name. 

One  might  reason,  You  can  see  the  sky  anywhere, 
you  can  watch  from  your  own  windows  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars ;  why,  therefore,  spend  days  and  nights  in 
an  observatory?  Yes,  but  you  get  in  an  observatory 
a  view  of  the  firmament  you  get  nowhere  else :  by 
the  aid  of  special  instruments  and  teachers  you  master 
secrets  of  the  heavens  in  that  astronomical  coign  of 
vantage  not  possible  in  your  house  or  on  the 
common. 

God's  house  has  special  privileges  and  promises. 
There  the  heavens  open ;  there  God's  voice  is  heard 
in  majesty  and  mercy ;  there  He  feeds  us  with  the 
bread  in  the  strength  of  which  we  go  many  days. 


196 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  15 

Scripture  Reading — Prov.  xxiii.  15-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Wine  is  a  mocfter;  whosoever  is  deoeiued  thereby  is  not  wise." 
— Prov.  xx.  i 

SOME  of  the  strongest  denunciations  of  Holy 
Writ,  alike  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, are  directed  against  "  witches  "  and  "  sorcerers," 
that  is  against  the  dealers  in  drugs  for  the  purpose  of 
debauch.  They  are  represented  as  the  vilest  of  men, 
as  guilty  of  producing  the  darkest  crimes,  reserved  to 
severest  judgment. 

Without  confusing  opium  and  wine,  Holy  Writ 
never  fails  to  warn  us  that  excessive  sensual  in- 
dulence  entails  the  same  bad  consequences  as  do 
the  most  noxious  narcotics.  Red  magic  may  easily 
become  as  deadly  as  black  magic.  With  what 
circumspection  ought  we  to  walk ! 

The  restrained  and  hallowed  life  has  its  "sequel." 
It  issues  in  glory,  honour,  and  peace.  Lest  we  be 
tempted  by  the  purple  bubbles  at  the  brim  of  sin's 
cup,  let  us  remember  its  poisonous  dregs.  "  The  end 
of  these  things  is  death."  "And  in  the  end  eternal 
life."  Let  me  all  the  day  long  look  beyond  to  the 
sequel. 


197 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  16 

Scripture  Reading— i  Kings  xx.  1-21 

Thought  for  the  D  y 

"Every  man  that  stn'ueth  for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in  all 
things." — i  Cor.  viii.  25 

BEN-HADAD  lost  the  battle  through  drinking, 
and  through  indulgence  we  may  lose  the  battle 
ol  life. 

"  Every  man  that  striveth  in  the  games  is  temperate 
in  all  things."  Let  us  be  on  our  guard  against  the 
cheap  luxury  of  damning  sins  to  which  we  have  no 
inclination,  and  yet  all  the  while  practising  others 
equally  bad. 

We  are  often  guilty  of  sad  partialities.  He  who 
has  the  mind  of  Christ  cultivates  a  catholic  goodness. 
It  is  possible  to  be  temperate  in  eating  and  drinking, 
and  yet  very  intemperate  in  temper,  in  the  love  of 
money,  and  in  the  criticism  of  one's  neighbours.  We 
must  watch  and  chasten  ourselves  on  every  side. 

"Temperate  in  all  things,"  and  say  nothing  about 
it.  The  athlete  is  so  intent  on  the  crown  that  he 
never  dreams  of  magnifying  the  denials  of  training. 

Let  my  soul  be  so  intoxicated  with  the  great  visions 
and  hopes  of  my  faith  that  I  shall  count  all  things 
loss  for  the  sake  of  moral  conquest,  that  I  smile  at 
toil  and  pain  if  I  may  only  win  Christ. 


iq8 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  17 

Scripture  Reading — i  Cor.  xii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"By  one  Spirit  we  are  all  baptized  into  one  body." — i  Cor. 
xii.  13 

THE  unity  of  the  Church  is  a  great  fact.  Carlyle 
writing  Emerson  affirms :  "  No  truly  great 
man,  from  Jesus  Christ  onwards,  as  I  often  say,  ever 
founded  a  sect — I  mean  wilfully  intended  founding 
one."  Jesus  Christ  did  not  intend  to  found  a  sect,  but 
He  certainly  wilfully  designed  to  found  a  Church.  It 
is  impossible  to  read  the  Gospels  without  being 
satisfied  of  this. 

The  diversity  within  the  unity.  Diversities  of  gifts 
diversities  of  ministrations,  diversities  of  working. 
The  Saviour  of  all  men  creates  an  organism  that  is 
rich  in  many  gifts,  ministries,  instruments,  and 
programmes,  so  that  His  catholic  truth  and  love  may 
be  brought  home  to  all  the  redeemed.  It  would  have 
been  a  pity  if  the  rainbow  had  been  of  one  colour ;  it 
is  absurd  to  try  to  make  it  so. 

The  efficacy  of  every  arangement  and  gift  must  not 
be  forgotten.  "The  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is 
given  to  profit  withal."  Nothing  is  in  the  Church 
simply  to  satisfy  the  theories  of  ecclesiastics,  nothing 
for  ornament,  everything  exists  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners  and  the  building  up  of  the  saints. 


199 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  18 

Scripture  Reading— John  xvi.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  When  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  He  will  guide  you  into 

all  truth." — ^JoHN  xvi.  13 

GOD  did  not  at  the  beginning  of  history  give  to 
the  race  a  full  account  of  nature,  or  of  the 
principles  of  society,  or  of  the  goal  of  things,  but  as 
the  ages  unfold  He  gently  opens  our  eyes  to  the  facts 
and  philosophy  of  the  world. 

So  He  did  not  give  to  His  Church  full  and  final 
knowledge  of  all  that  relates  to  the  experience  of  His 
children  and  the  fortunes  of  His  kingdom.  The  rays 
of  light  filter  through,  are  ever  filtering  through,  as 
they  are  needed. 

Our  infallibility  is  with  the  Spirit.  The  light  that 
never  leads  astray  shines  directly  from  heaven,  and 
this  Oracle  all  sincere,  penitent,  believing  men  are 
invited  to  consult.  The  grandest  privilege  of  human- 
ity is  here,  to  speak  with  God  as  with  our  friend. 

"If  any  man  lack  wisdom  let  him  ask  of  God." 
Prayer  finds  the  true  "  Inquiry  Ofifice."  Whatever  we 
need  to  solve  our  doubts,  to  guide  our  steps,  shall  be 
given. 


200 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  19 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xiv.  1-12 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Even  I  it  is  tfiat  have  sinned  and  done  evil  indeed." — i  Chron. 
xxi.  17. 

SO  conscience  worked  in  the  murderous  Herod ! 
"  This  is  John  the  Baptist ;  he  is  risen  from  the 
dead." 

Caracciolo,  the  Neapolitan  patriot,  at  the  instigation 
of  Ferdinand,  the  Bourbon  King  of  Naples,  was 
hanged  at  the  yardarm  of  a  frigate  in  the  Bay,  when 
weights  were  attached  to  his  body,  and  it  was  sunk  in 
the  sea.  A  few  days  later  it  would  seem  that  the 
weights  slipped,  and  the  corpse  reappeared,  to  the 
horror  of  the  conscience-stricken  king,  who  happened 
to  witness  it.  So  the  ghost  of  John  tormented  the 
guilty  Herod.  How  strange  and  terrible  the  power 
of  conscience  !  In  the  crypts  of  the  soul  sleep  all  dark 
memories,  and  they  are  ever  being  startled  into  life 
to  convict  and  punish  the  sinner. 

"  I  believe  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins."  Conscience 
is  a  tremendous  reality ;  let  me  then  understand  the 
power  of  Him  who  forgives  sin  and  who  cleanses  it. 
We  have  all  crimson  sins  which  He  alone  can  purge. 


20  T 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  20 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  vi.  20-29 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Suffer  not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy  flesh  to  sin." — Eccles.  v.  6 

WE  all  need  to  stand  on  our  guard  against  the 
dangers  of  gay  occasions.  Herod  on  his 
birthday  making  a  great  supper  was  carried  away  by 
excitement  to  do  what  was  contrary  to  his  sober 
opinion,  and  what,  ever  after,  he  bitterly  regretted. 

The  newspapers  often  warn  us  against  "  holiday 
perils  " ;  that  is,  the  special  dangers  of  boating,  bath- 
ing, and  climbing  during  the  summer  vacation.  Then 
we  are  gay,  hilarious,  venturesome,  off  our  guard,  and 
are  liable  to  accidents  as  we  are  not  on  ordinary 
occasions. 

So  the  festal  day,  the  jubilee  celebration,  the  social 
function,  brings  its  peril,  and  many  a  worthy  man  and 
woman  has  had  bitter  reason  to  regret  the  lapses  of 
gala  days.  We  may  not  be  tempted  to  sacrifice  the 
heads  of  other  people,  but  we  may  easily  lose  our 
own : 

"  Gird  thy  heavenly  armour  on  ; 
Wear  it  ever,  night  and  day ; 
Ambushed  hes  the  evil  one  : 

Watch  and  pray." 


202 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  21 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  ix.  1-9 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  There  is  no  peace,  saith  the  Lord,  unto  the  wicked." — Isa. 
xlviii.  22. 

WHAT  a  striking  contrast  is  established  in 
this  section  of  Scripture !  First,  we  see  the 
Twelve  sent  forth  on  their  errand  of  mercy  and 
salvation.  They  are  to  cure  diseases,  to  publish 
peace,  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil.  And  all  is 
simple  and  modest  in  an  extraordinary  degree.  Yet 
how  truly  grand  is  the  mission,  and  how  incomparably 
majestic  the  missioners !  All  is  unselfish,  magnani- 
mous, and  full  of  blessing. 

Then  in  contrast  we  have  the  Tetrarch,  a  guilty 
wretch  wrestling  with  spectres.  The  Apostles  without 
a  staff,  Herod  with  a  sceptre  ;  the  one  without  bread, 
the  other  making  great  suppers  for  lords  and  captains  ; 
the  one  with  a  single  garment,  the  other  with  a  ward- 
robe stuffed  with  purple  and  gold.  Yet  how  infinitely 
superior  the  men  of  love,  purity  and  sacrifice ! 

Well  may  Corot  exult,  "  Long  live  conscience  and 
simplicity  !  There  lies  the  only  way  to  the  true  and 
the  sublime."  Let  me  choose  the  better  part,  which 
shall  not  be  taken  away  from  me ! 


203 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  22 

Scripture  Reading— Dan.  vi,  10-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Thy  God,  whom  thou  seruest  continually,  He  will  deliver 
thee." — Dan.  vi.  16 

WE  see  in  Darius,  and  again  in  Herod,  the 
power  of  false  honour.  Darius  regarded 
Daniel,  and  set  his  heart  to  deliver  the  prophet. 
Herod  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  character  of 
John,  and  was  exceedingly  sorry  to  do  him  violence. 
Yet  from  a  false  sense  of  duty  they  both  became 
guilty  of  capital  crime.  They  forgot  that  "a  man 
cannot  be  just  if  he  is  not  humane." 

To-day  a  false  sense  of  honour  is  the  source  of 
much  mischief,  of  many  evils.  Let  us  not  mistake 
here.  True  honour  is  a  golden  bond  binding  to 
deeds  willed  in  high  and  holy  moments  ;  false  honour 
is  only  an  article  of  the  devil's  decalogue,  an  iron 
bond  in  which  there  is  no  real  obligation,  only  illusion 
and  disgrace.  We  had  better  appear  cowards  before 
men  than  before  God. 

"Honour  rooted  in  dishonour"  is  best  repudiated 
at  the  earliest  moment.  Nothing  is  binding  that 
is  inhuman,  nothing  that  is  impious,  nothing  that 
is  unjust.  Let  us  watch  lest  we  make  snares  for 
ourselves. 


204 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  23 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  vii.  24-30 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light." — ^John  v.  35 

IT  is  a  great  thing  to  be  eulogised  by  the  lips  of 
Christ !  We  are  sure  of  the  grandeur  of  one 
whom  He  sanctions  and  glorifies.  How  profoundly 
He  appreciates  the  Baptist,  and  on  what  a  pinnacle 
He  sets  him  1  John  in  the  black  hole  of  Herod  had 
apparently  moods  of  depression ;  for  a  moment  it 
would  seem  that  the  gathering  tragedy  bewildered 
his  great,  pure  soul;  but  the  Master  has  nothing 
to  say  of  His  servant's  human  frailty.  Only  splendid 
words  of  praise ! 

Oh !  to  be  approved  by  Christ.  No  matter  what 
we  think  of  ourselves  if  only  He  recognises  us.  No 
matter  what  the  world  says  about  us,  if  He  counts 
us  worthy.     And  we  may  be  approved  by  Him. 

Truly,  John  was  a  great  man,  "  Yet  he  that  is 
but  little  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  greater  than 
he."  The  little,  the  obscure,  the  unremembered,  may 
have  Christ  for  their  panegyrist.  "  Salute  Apelles, 
approved  in  Christ."  Nothing  more  is  known  of 
Apelles  than  this;  it  is  enough.  Let  me  simply 
live  for  this. 


205 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  24 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xiv.  13-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread." — Matt.  vi.  11 

THE  multiplying  power  of  God  is  a  thought  to 
be  laid  to  heart.  We  are  apt  to  look  simply 
at  that  which  is  before  us,  and  to  forget  its  possi- 
bilities of  enlargement  and  reduplication. 

A  Scotchman,  named  David  Fife,  of  Canada, 
obtained  from  Glasgow  some  wheat  of  a  special 
kind.  Only  three  ears,  the  produce  of  a  single  grain, 
ripened,  but  the  splendid  Canadian  harvest  of  1908, 
more  than  eleven  million  quarters,  was  wholly  de- 
scended from  that  one  seed.  The  multiplication  of 
the  loaves  and  fishes  was  a  passing  illustration  of 
the  far  larger  miracle  of  the  daily  feeding  of  the 
race. 

Let  me  remember  the  multiplying  power  of  God 
in  all  my  earthly  affairs.  The  barrel  of  meal,  the 
cruse  of  oil,  shall  not  fail  if  my  faith  and  faithfulness 
do  not  fail.  My  opportunities  in  the  spiritual  life 
may  be  very  meagre ;  but  in  my  scraps  of  knowledge, 
my  narrow  resources,  my  restricted  privileges,  I  may 
find  bread  enough,  and  to  spare. 


206 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  25 

Scripture  Reading— Ex,  xvi.  10-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  am  the  living  bread  ivhicfi  came  down  from  heaven." — 
John  vi.  51 

"  A  ND  when  the  children  of  Israel  saw  it,  they 
£\^  said  one  to  another,  What  is  it?  for  they 
wist  not  what  it  was."  Our  Lord  worked  His 
miracle,  and  mysteriously  the  multitude  was  fed. 
They  understood  not  the  process  of  the  creation  of 
the  banquet  of  the  desert. 

But  is  not  our  daily  bread  also  bread  of  wonder? 
Who  can  understand  the  secret  of  the  nourishing 
of  the  body  ?  Even  Voltaire  could  write,  "  Ask  by 
what  secret  mystery  this  bread  and  this  meat  digest 
in  the  body,  and  are  transformed  into  a  sweetly 
prepared  milk?  How,  always  filtered  in  its  unerring 
course,  does  it  run  in  long  purple  streams  to  swell 
my  veins?  How  does  it  give  to  my  languishing 
body  a  new  power,  and  make  my  heart  beat,  and 
my  brain  think  ?  " 

Why  should  I  then  stumble  at  the  mystery  of  the 
spiritual  life,  and  the  support  of  that  life  by  the 
truth  of  Jesus  ?  Let  me  eat  and  drink  of  my  Lord 
by  faith  with  thanksgiving. 


207 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  26 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xiv.  22-36 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Be  of  good  cheer;  it  is  I;  be  not  afraid." — Matt.  xiv.  27 

THE  mystery  of  the  ocean  well  represents  the 
mystery  of  life,  especially  in  relation  to  the 
sadness  of  life.  We  sail  in  daily  peril,  we  are  helpless 
amid  the  waves,  we  are  liable  to  shipwreck,  we 
founder  in  the  deep.  But  our  Lord  and  Master 
walks  the  wave.  He  is  the  true  Lord  High  Admiral 
of  the  seas.  Amid  all  the  uncertainty  of  life,  its 
seeming  cruelty,  its  terrible  wreck  and  ruin,  there 
runs  wise  and  generous  law,  enjoined  and  adminis- 
tered by  Almighty  power  and  grace. 

But  let  me  be  guilty  of  no  presumption.  There 
was  no  necessity  for  Peter  to  attempt  the  sea,  and 
his  temerity  brought  humiliation.  Let  me  stick  to 
the  ship  until  my  Lord  calls  me  to  forsake  it.  In 
other  words,  let  me  humbly  use  all  prudential 
measures  for  the  safeguarding  of  life,  and  then  I 
may  confidently  hope  for  deliverance  when  the  hour 
comes  to  set  my  foot  on  the  wave,  without  even  a 
cork  to  trust  to 


208 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  27 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  iv.  35-41 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Why  are  ye  so  fearful?  hoiv  is  it  that  ye  have  no  faith." — 

Mark  iv.  40 

"'I  "\  THY  are  ye  so  fearful?"  In  addition  to  its 
V  V  natural  mystery  and  danger,  a  whole  host 
of  superstitious  terrors  have  become  associated  with 
the  deep.  Sea  giants,  diminutive  dwarfs,  cunning 
fairies,  wonderful  goblins  and  demons  are  supposed 
to  haunt  the  depths.  So  human  life  teems  with 
spectres. 

"  Why  are  ye  so  fearful  ? "  Because  we  know 
ourselves  too  well.  Conscience  is  at  the  bottom  of 
fear.  If  life  were  smooth  and  still  as  the  lake  of 
glass  before  the  Throne,  we  should  see  spectres  on 
its  glittering  surface,  sharks  in  its  jewelled  depths; 
conscience  makes  us  cowards. 

"  Why  are  ye  so  fearful  ? "  Because  we  do  not 
know  our  Master  well  enough.  If  we  once  believed 
in  the  riches  of  His  grace  to  forgive,  in  the  fulness 
of  His  power  to  save,  there  would  be  no  more 
sorrow  on  the  sea. 


209 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  28 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  cvii.  32-43 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  bn'ngeth  them  unto  their  desired  haven." — Ps.  cvii.  30 

HOWEVER  often  one  has  been  to  sea,  it  always 
seems  wonderful  that  after  weeks  on  the 
deep  without  guiding  marks  the  vessel  at  last  strikes 
exactly  the  lighthouse  or  beacon  that  indicates  the 
haven.     So  shall  the  Divine  Pilot  steer  us  true. 

Let  me  then,  when  life  seems  vague,  when  there  is 
nothing  to  show  where  I  am,  no  pathway,  no  signal, 
let  me  be  sure  that  there  is  a  plan  and  programme 
notwithstanding.  When  life  seems  without  progress 
let  me  yet  be  confident. 

However  fast  a  vessel  moves  at  sea,  the  horizon 
moves  at  an  equal  pace,  and  it  seems  ever  the  same 
horizon.  So  sometimes  we  urge  onwards  with  much 
effort  and  motion,  and  yet  appear  just  as  far  off  from 
our  ideal  as  ever.  "  So "  we  are  brought  to  the 
haven. 

"  Jesus,  Saviour,  pilot  me 
Over  life's  tempestuous  sea  ! 
Unknown  waves  before  me  roll, 
Hiding  rock  and  treacherous  shoal ; 
Chart  and  compass  came  from  Thee  I 
Jesus,  Saviour,  pilot  me." 


210 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  29 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  vii.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  haue  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel." — Luke 
vii.  9 

"  T  T  E  marvelled  because  of  their  unbelief"  (Mark 
J7X  vi.  6).  How  often  had  He  to  do  this?  But 
for  once  at  least,  Jesus  is  surprised  by  a  miracle. 
"  He  marvelled  at  him."  How  rarely  we  give  our 
Lord  this  joy ! 

"  Say  with  a  word."  How  strangely  and  fully  did 
the  centurion  apprehend  the  majesty  and  sovereignty 
of  Jesus !  With  a  word  the  centurion  ordered  his 
affairs,  because  at  the  back  of  his  word  was  the 
authority  and  strength  of  the  Roman  Empire — the 
sceptre  of  Csesar,  the  tramp  of  legions,  the  majesty 
of  the  law,  the  axe  of  the  lictors.  The  world 
trembled  at  that  word,  and  obeyed. 

What,  then,  will  a  word  of  God  effect?  "  He  spake 
and  it  was  done  ;  He  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." 
And  His  every  word  of  grace  is  strong  as  that  which 
built  the  skies.  Not  a  syllable  of  His  but  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels  are  behind  it.  It  is  in  this 
word  that  1  trust  for  all  that  life  means,  all  that  death 
and  eternity  mean. 


211 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


JulySO 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xv.  21-28 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Lord,  help  me." — Matt.  xv.  25 

THE  cry  of  misery:  "Have  mercy  on  me,  O 
Lord."  The  woe  of  the  daughter  was  the  woe 
of  the  mother,  and  very  deep  and  bitter  it  was.  The 
rebuke  of  misery :  "  Send  her  away."  How  callous 
we  often  are!  A  great  writer  has  observed  how 
much  more  ready  we  are  to  sympathise  with  the 
successes  and  victories  of  our  neighbours  than  we  are 
with  their  misfortunes.  But  even  the  Master  seemed 
to  chide.  He  who  feels  for  us  most  sometimes  deeply 
tries  us  by  strange  delays. 

The  logic  of  misery.  When  we  want  a  thing  badly 
enough  we  become  wonderfully  acute  and  eloquent. 
Aeronauts  say  that  a  woman's  voice  is  heard  farther 
up  in  the  sky  than  any  other  sound.  But  how  far 
does  her  voice  reach  in  anguish  and  faith  ?  Right  up 
to  the  throne  of  God. 

The  victory  of  misery.  "Be  it  done  unto  thee 
even  as  thou  wilt."  Wrestling  Jacobs,  pray  on. 
Prevail  you  must  I 


212 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


July  81 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  criv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  Lord  is  good  to  all,  and  His  tender  mercies  are  over  all 
His  works." — Ps.  cxlv.  9 

THIS  is  the  Psalm  of  universality.  "The  Lord 
is  good  to  all,  and  His  tender  mercies  are 
over  all  His  works."  It  often  looks  otherwise,  but 
"  He  meaneth  not  so." 

"The  Lord  upholdeth  all  that  fall."  We  see  a 
dark  side  to  life,  but  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  active 
here  also.  Here  He  is  graciously  present  to  comfort, 
heal,  and  deliver.  He  is  with  us  in  all  our  misfortunes 
to  convert  them  into  blessings. 

**  The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  all  them  that  call  upon 
Him."  All  have  free  access  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
and  no  petition  is  rejected  when  we  "  call  upon  Him 
in  truth." 

The  optimism  of  this  psalm  concerning  all  beings 
and  things  is  remarkable.  In  the  poet's  opinion, 
goodness  is  at  the  bottom  of  it  all,  pervades  it  all, 
and  endures  through  all.  There  is  no  pessimism 
except  to  the  deliberately  and  persistently  wicked. 


213 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  1 

Scripture  Readinc— Ps.  Ixvi. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  be  God,  which  hath  not  turned  away  my  prayer." — 
Ps.  Ixvi.  20 

THE  Psalmist  tells  his  experience  of  God's 
answers  to  his  prayers.  Note  that  the  bless- 
ing is  given  in  answer  to  prayer.  Can  we  expect 
either  gift  or  deliverance  when  we  do  not  ask  for  it  ? 

But  it  would  appear  that  the  answer  was  not  given 
immediately.  Heaven  sometimes  treats  us  as  our 
Lord  did  the  Canaanitish  woman.  When  the  prayer 
was  answered,  it  was  not  in  the  way  expected. 

The  English  peasant  believes  that  lightning  ripens 
the  corn,  and  the  Italian  believes  that  comets  ripen 
the  vine,  but  certainly  God  brings  into  being  His 
greatest  blessings  through  great  tribulations. 

"  But  verily  God  hath  heard  me."  He  does  finally 
answer,  and  He  pays  well  for  delays.  Does  He  not 
sometimes  best  answer  our  prayers  by  not  answering 
them  at  all  in  the  form  we  urged  ?  A  saintly  woman 
said  that  she  had  "  lived  long  enough  to  thank  God 
for  some  unanswered  prayers," 


214 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  2 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xiii.  1-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  that  aoweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  man." — Matt. 
xiii.  37 

WORKERS  for  God  may  find  much  to  suggest 
discouragement  in  this  parable ;  and  yet  its 
conclusion  is  comforting  and  inspiring. 

Not  so  many  years  ago  the  Island  of  Krakatoa 
was  utterly  destroyed  by  a  terrible  volcano,  and 
every  vestige  of  vegetation  perished.  Yet  its  present 
condition  demonstrates  in  a  remarkable  degree  how 
quickly  plants  are  able  to  take  possession  of  a  steril- 
ised region  even  under  the  most  unfavourable  con- 
ditions. From  a  variety  of  causes,  a  large  proportion 
of  the  germs  reaching  the  desolated  shores  perished ; 
and  yet,  despite  all  this  difficulty  and  destruction,  in 
about  fifty  years  the  island  was  covered  with  vegeta- 
tion, flowering  plants,  ferns,  orchids,  palms. 

So  is  there  ever  difficulty,  delay,  and  failure  in 
sowing  the  golden  seed  of  the  Gospel ;  yet  in  wild 
neighbourhoods,  in  rough  hearts,  in  heathen  lands, 
shall  the  sowing  not  prove  in  vain. 


215 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  3 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  xix. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  law  of  the   Lord   is  perfect,   converting    the  soul." — 

Ps.  xix.  7 

WE  want  to  be  sure,  in  the  first  instance,  that 
the  doctrines  we  learn,  hold,  teach,  are  indeed 
the  seed  of  the  Kingdom.  The  seedsman's  catalogue, 
as  the  gardener  runs  over  it  in  January,  raises  within 
him  visions  of  delight — all  sorts  of  things,  gay,  sweet, 
splendid.  And  yet,  when  the  season  arrives,  the 
blooms  do  not  by  any  means  justify  the  catalogue. 
The  seeds,  perhaps,  were  not  of  the  best. 

It  is  said  that  seed  should  always  come  direct  from 
its  native  home,  imported  direct  from  the  country  to 
which  the  flower  belongs,  and  not  taken  from  flowers 
domesticated  here.  Let  us,  whilst  thankful  for  all 
human  aid  in  understanding  God's  Word,  be  sure 
that  we  again  and  again  go  back  to  "the  native 
home  "  of  God's  truth  in  the  Holy  Book. 

Then  we  shall  never  be  disappointed.  The  divine 
Word  is  full  of  enlightening,  purifying,  converting 
power. 


2l6 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  4> 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  vi.  i-6 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  euer."—i  Pet,  i.  25 

HOW  often  men  miss  the  great  blessing  through 
occupying  themselves  with  a  variety  of  curious 
questions !  Instead  of  fixing  their  mind  on  the 
astonishing  teaching  and  gracious  words,  they  turn  to 
superficial  and  irrelevant  questions  about  the  Master's 
relatives. 

In  close  proximity  to  the  diamond  as  it  is  found  in 
the  mine  are  inferior  substances  known  as  boart, 
carbonado,  and  graphite.  They  are  interesting 
formations  in  some  respects,  but  useless  for  gems. 
How  strange  it  would  be  if  men  should  stay  to  discuss 
these  pebbles  and  forget  the  diamond  !  Yet  this  is 
exactly  what  critics  do  in  regard  to  the  "  pearl  of 
great  price."  They  ignore  the  substantial  thing  in 
discussing  curious  questions  of  many  kinds. 

Let  me  be  sure  that  I  seize  the  essential  thing. 
That  I  find  in  Christ  my  divine,  complete,  personal 
Saviour.  That  I  prove  in  my  Bible  the  word  of  God 
saving  the  soul. 


217 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  5 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  ii.  37-47 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  the  word  of  God  dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom." — 

Col.  iii.  16 

HERE  is  the  seed  that  falls  on  honest  hearts — 
true,  sincere,  obedient  hearts.  "  Added  in 
that  day  about  three  thousand  souls." 

There  is  a  wonderful  germinating,  multiplying, 
fructifying  power  in  evil,  A  single  weed  taken  into 
a  foreign  country  in  a  few  years  becomes  a  gigantic 
nuisance ;  but  we  will  still  believe  that  the  conquering 
vitality  is  with  the  good  and  beautiful. 

In  the  individual  life  it  is  the  same.  It  is  astonish- 
ing how  a  single  Gospel  truth,  honestly  and  warmly 
held,  takes  possession  of  our  whole  being  and  influ- 
ences the  whole  life. 

A  lichen  is  minute  and  frail,  yet  it  will  corrode 
quartz,  pulverise  the  hardest  rocks.  So  get  a  very 
fragment  of  Christ's  truth  into  the  soul,  and  it  sub- 
dues the  powers  of  evil,  brings  forth  sweet  and 
glorious  fruits  of  light. 


218 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  6 

Scripture  Reading— John  iv.  35-42 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Lift  up  your  eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields:  for  they  are  white 
already  to  harvest." — John  iv.  35 

IN  some  parts  of  Russia  only  six  weeks  elapse 
between  the  deep  snows  of  the  winter  and  the 
ingathering  of  the  harvest.  And  the  Master,  who 
here  again  appears  as  a  glorious  optimist,  declares 
the  ripeness  of  human  hearts  for  the  heavenly 
blessing. 

Let  us  remember  this  in  the  house,  the  sanctuary, 
the  school.  If  we  take  a  bulb  into  an  ice-house  it 
may  well  be  an  age  before  it  flowers,  if  indeed  it  ever 
does  so ;  but  take  it  into  a  hot-house  and  it  blooms 
directly. 

The  chilling  way  some  Christians  have  in  dealing 
with  the  unconverted  is  as  snow  in  summer,  and  not 
calculated  to  assist  the  working  of  the  Spirit. 

The  husbandman  goes  around  garden,  orchard, 
field,  saying  to  everything  that  grows  :  "  All  is  ready, 
you  are  expected,  come  along."  So  should  we  treat 
the  undecided. 


219 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  7 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  xiii.  24-43 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  Father." — Matt.  xiii.  43 

HOW  soon  we  become  aware  of  the  conflict  ever 
raging  in  the  world  between  truth  and  error, 
good  and  evil !  How  real  it  is,  mysterious,  and 
sometimes  peculiarly  disheartening ! 

The  origin  of  our  common  weeds  is  a  very  difficult 
question  to  solve,  and  very  perplexing  is  the  problem 
of  evil,  its  sources  and  subtlety.  The  universality 
and  persistency  of  weeds  astonish  the  naturalist ;  and 
we  may  be  even  more  astonished  as  the  false  and 
foul  everywhere  assert  themselves,  and  cunningly  inter- 
mingle with  whatever  is  true  and  beautiful,  alike  in 
the  individual  and  in  society. 

But  the  distinctive  teaching  of  this  parable  is  clear 
enough,  evil  is  evil.  "  An  enemy  hath  done  this." 
One  of  the  deepest,  deadliest  evils  is  to  think  lightly 
of  evil.  We  are  never  right  or  safe  except  when  we 
glow  with  an  enthusiasm  for  good,  and  dread  evil. 


220 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  8 

Scripture  Reading— Gen.  iii,  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  devil  ainneth  from  the  beginning." — i  John  iii.  8 

IN  God's  field,  beautiful  field  of  Paradise,  came  the 
devil  sowing  black  germs. 

Yet  how  tempting  often  are  the  malign  fruits  of 
evil!  They  appeal  to  the  appetite.  "Good  for 
food."  Whilst  the  diet  of  health  is  sober,  the  devil's 
viands  are  piquant  and  intoxicating.  They  appeal 
to  the  imagination.  "  Pleasant  to  the  eyes."  They 
appeal  to  the  intellect.  To  "  be  desired  to  make  one 
wise."  The  knowledge  of  evil  that  means  pride, 
violence,  presumption  is  peculiarly  seductive.  Poison 
flowers  are  sometimes  gay,  poisonous  fruits  are 
ruddier  than  the  cherry,  and  the  things  which  destroy 
morally  are  often  replete  with  fascination. 

Let  me  beware  of  the  desire  of  the  eye,  the  lust  of 
the  flesh,  and  the  pride  of  life.  The  chaste  beauty, 
the  sober  gold,  the  pure  sweetness  of  innocence  and 
goodness  are  infinitely  beyond  the  fierce  and  fatal 
delights  of  the  fool's  paradise. 


221 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  9 

Scripture  Reading— John  viii,  39-47 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  that  is  of  God  heareth  God's  words."— John  viii.  47 

TO  surrender  to  evil  in  any  shape  is  to  render 
ourselves  insusceptible  to  the  eternal  light. 
A  fruit  that  grows  in  Queensland,  and  which  pos- 
sesses a  specially  pleasant  flavour,  is  said  to  induce 
paralysis  of  the  optic  nerves  and  cause  blindness  and 
death.  All  sin  acts  thus  on  the  optic  nerves  of  the 
soul. 

"  He  that  is  of  God  heareth  God's  words."  A 
sincere  soul,  a  pure  life,  makes  us  tremblingly  alive 
to  the  truth.  The  leaves,  stems,  and  petioles  of 
plants  are  extraordinarily  sensitive  to  sunlight. 
According  to  Darwin,  grass  seedlings  will  curve 
towards  a  source  of  light  so  faint  that  it  is  indis- 
tinguishable to  a  human  eye.  Yet  far  more  sensitive 
is  the  true  soul  to  the  faintest  shining  of  the  eternal 
light. 

The  sincere-hearted  are  just  as  quick  to  discern  in 
Christ  the  very  things  for  which  they  long.  As  the 
needle  turns  to  the  pole,  so  their  hearts  turn  to 
Christ 


222 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  10 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Pet.  iii.  8-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We,  according  to  His  promise,  look  for  neiv  heauena  and  a  new 
earth." — 2  Pet.  iii.  13 

THE  conflict  between  good  and  evil  continues 
from  age  to  age,  yet  nevertheless  it  is  not  for 
ever.     "  The  day  of  the  Lord  wi//  come." 

Professor  Thomson  recently  pointed  out  that  a 
certain  radium  substance  attracted  and  repelled  an 
object  much  in  the  style  of  a  pendulum,  so  that  with 
some  clockwork  attached  to  the  pendulum  we  should 
have  a  clock  that  would  require  winding  up  only  once 
in  a  million  years. 

This  is  the  kind  of  clock  to  measure  God's  action 
by.  To  consummate  His  plan,  to  make  and  unmake 
worlds.  He  requires  ages. 

Yet  time  is  not  of  the  essence  of  the  question. 
However  long  the  conflict  of  right  and  wrong  may 
continue,  the  struggle  will  end  in  the  achievement 
of  the  Divine  purpose,  and  the  present  system  of 
things  will  vanish  because  it  has  answered  God's 
design.  No  matter  when  the  second  coming  of  our 
Lord  may  be,  how  soon  He  will  come  to  me ! 


223 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  11 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Thess.  L  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We  shall  all  stand  before  the  Judgment  seat  of  Christ." — Rom. 

xiv.  10 

IT  is  justice  on  God's  part  to  requite  with  retribu- 
tion those  who  afflict  the  saints,  and  to  reward 
the  suffering  saints  with  the  final  and  eternal  rest. 

How  different  is  all  life  according  as  to  whether 
we  are  the  subjects  of  a  fearful  looking  for  of  judg- 
ment, or  are  anticipating  the  saints'  everlasting  rest ! 
A  while  ago  we  were  returning  from  a  long  journey 
to  spend  Christmas  at  home ;  whilst  in  another 
part  of  the  train  we  noticed  a  prisoner  chained  to  a 
policeman,  on  his  way  to  the  county  gaol.  How 
different  the  journey  to  the  two  travellers !  The 
train  got  on  too  fast  for  one,  not  fast  enough  for  the 
other  ;  every  mile  increased  the  misery  of  the  one, 
heightened  the  joy  of  expectation  in  the  other. 

May  my  faith  in  the  great  crises  of  the  future 
become  so  vivid  and  sure  that  it  shall  most  power- 
fully influence  all  my  days !  May  my  hope  be  so 
strong  as  to  constrain  me  to  whatever  is  good  and 
true! 


224 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  12 

Scripture  Reading — Rev.  xx.  ii-ij 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to  God." — Rom. 
xiv.  12 

ALL  things  are  being  recorded,  and  we  shall  have 
to  face  the  music  of  the  archangel's  trumpet. 

We  are  assured  by  science  that  every  fugitive 
movement  registers  itself,  photographs  itself,  and  in  a 
sense  becomes  eternal.  Is  it  a  superstition  to  believe 
that  the  individual  life  makes  its  mark  on  the  page 
of  nature  ?  We  write  our  history  in  the  book  of  our 
body.  Yes,  the  body  is  a  rubric,  a  story  sternly 
recorded  in  red  lines,  partially  seen  even  to-day. 
And  in  the  book  of  conscience  the  deeds  done  in  the 
body  are  recorded  as  by  a  diamond  pen  in  the  rock 
for  ever.  We  are  the  recording  angels  of  our  own 
life. 

"  And  the  books  were  opened."  The  secret 
characters  will  blaze  out,  and  we  cannot  deny  our 
own  handwriting  and  signature.  Let  me  then,  by 
Divine  grace,  write  my  passport  to  the  skies.  How 
terrible  to  think  of  writing  our  own  death  warrant  1 


225 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  13 

Scripture  Reading — Dan.  xii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  Kingdom 
of  their  Father." — Matt.  xiiL  43 

AGRICULTURALISTS  are  often  sadly  troubled 
by  the  weeds  which  get  mixed  with  the  seed 
corn,  A  pound  of  "  clover  seed "  was  found  to 
contain  14,400  seeds  of  no  less  than  forty-four  distinct 
and  separate  weeds.  So  farmers  take  great  care  to 
ensure  that  no  weeds  are  sown  along  with  the  true 
corn.  Yet  do  what  they  will,  the  dormant  pos- 
sibilities of  evil  are  quite  incalculable,  and  germin- 
ating weeds  steal  in  and  mock  them. 

So  are  the  good  and  evil  mingled  in  society, 
mingled  in  families,  mingled  in  the  Church,  and  it  is 
often  impossible  for  us  to  discriminate  and  divide 
them  without  doing  more  harm  than  good. 

Yet  a  day  is  coming  when  eternal  justice  and 
faithfulness  will  accomplish  what  is  impossible  now. 
"  Whose  fan  is  in  His  hand,  and  He  will  throughly 
cleanse  His  threshing  floor ;  and  He  will  gather  His 
wheat  into  the  garner,  but  the  chaff  He  will  burn  up 
with  unquenchable  fire."  He  is  doing  this  by  His 
Spirit  now ;  He  will  complete  the  tremendous  process 
before  He  has  done  with  us.  Spirit  of  God,  bring 
home  to  me  the  solemn  lesson  ! 


226 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  14 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  x5x.  1-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  God  and  prevailed." — Acts  xix,  20 

THE  workings  of  grace  may  be  shrouded  in 
deepest  secrecy,  and  proceed  in  profoundest 
silence,  but  their  power  is  marvellous.  The  workings 
of  iniquity  are  put  to  shame,  whatever  their  pride  and 
boasting. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  what  was  the  reality  and 
measure  of  this  power  of  magic,  but  it  yielded  to  the 
mighty  power  of  the  "  word  of  God."  All  evil  par- 
takes of  the  nature  of  magic — whilst  pretentious,  it  is 
unreal ;  whilst  boasting  great  things,  it  is  vain  and 
fruitless. 

Many  pestilent  weeds  grow  just  too  deep  to  be 
reached  by  the  ploughshare,  but  the  Gospel  plough 
reaches  the  root  of  every  error  and  turns  it  up  to  the 
light  and  air  of  the  upper  universe  which  kill  every 
evil  thing. 

Let  us  not  lose  faith  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
because  of  its  modesty  and  noiselessness.  A  fern 
springing  in  a  cranny  splits  the  rock  more  certainly 
and  thoroughly  than  a  thunderbolt,  and  the  hidden 
action  of  truth  and  grace  works  in  human  hearts  and 
institutions  effects  simply  miraculous. 


227 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  15 

Scripture  Reading— Prov.  Hi.  13-26 

Tho^tght  for  the  Day 

"Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are 

peace.  — Prov.  lii.  17  '^ 

HE  who  has  found  Christ  "  hath  paradise  found," 
as  the  hymn  of  Wesley  declares.  By  freeing 
us  from  the  sense  of  sin  and  guilt  the  Saviour  delivers 
us  from  all  the  blighting  power  of  life.  By  the 
strengthening  and  purification  of  our  moral  being 
He  enables  us  to  taste  all  the  sweetness  of  natural 
thmgs;  none  enjoy  the  riches  of  sense  as  do  the 
pure  in  heart.  "  The  world  is  yours."  By  granting 
us  the  riches  of  grace,  He  adds  another  vast  realm 
to  our  possessions  of  comfort,  power  and  hope. 

Christ  is  "  the  rose  of  Sharon."  He  is  the  noblest, 
loveliest,  sweetest  of  all  the  flowers  of  the  garden 
of  God.  To  wear  in  our  bosom  that  flower  is  to 
breathe  and  to  diffuse  perpetual  sweetness. 

We  have  not  understood  Christ  whilst  we  cherish 
a  regret  for  anything  His  service  may  have  cost  us. 
He  who  is  adorned  and  enriched  by  pearls  of  great 
price  does  not  grieve  over  the  oyster-shells  he  flung 
away. 


228 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  16 

Scripture  Reading — Dan.  vii.  8-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  are  the  meek;  for  they  shall  Inherit  the  earth."— 
Matt.  v.  5 

THE  strange  beasts  of  Daniel's  vision  symbolise 
the  various  and  terrible  forms  of  iniquity 
which  afflict  the  world  and  destroy  the  race.  They 
are  horrible  to  the  sight,  terrible  in  strength,  wholly 
destructive. 

How  hopeless  it  would  seem  to  enter  upon  a 
struggle  with  them  !  A  lion  with  eagle's  wings,  a 
bear  with  three  ribs  in  its  teeth,  a  leopard  with  four 
wings,  and  a  dreadful  beast  with  horns  and  iron 
teeth !  And  what  have  we  to  oppose  to  these 
rampant,  roaring  dragons?     A  lamb! 

Yet  shall  the  lamb  prevail,  taking  away  the  world's 
sin  and  vanquishing  its  foes.  The  softness  of  love, 
the  gentleness  of  meekness,  the  insinuations  of  truth, 
the  charms  of  peace,  shall  prevail  against  the  wild 
passions  of  men  and  the  rage  of  hell.  Let  me  not 
be  afraid  for  my  Master.  Because  He  is  meek  He 
brings  salvation.     His  gentleness  shall  make  us  great. 


229 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  17 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xii.  22-37 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"All  they  that  hate  me  love  death."— Prov.  viii.  36 

THE  old  poet  sings  of  moments  when  we  "into 
glory  peep,"  but  here  we  get  sudden  insight 
into  the  frightful  realities  of  the  infernal.  Under 
the  decent  surface  of  things  how  hell  seethes !  The 
fierce,  malefic,  polluting,  murderous  elements  are 
never  far  off.  As  an  awful  gulf  of  fire  smoulders 
beneath  the  pleasant  landscape,  so  our  Lord  reveals 
that  fiendish  forces  work  beneath  the  crust  of  civilisa- 
tion, putting  us  in  peril  every  hour. 

In  the  presence  and  fellowship  of  our  Lord  is 
our  safety  from  the  powers  of  wickedness.  The 
helplessness  of  man  in  the  power  of  the  devil,  and 
the  helplessness  of  the  devil  in  the  power  of  Christ, 
are  the  lessons  writ  large  throughout  the  narratives 
of  the  demoniacs. 

The  heart  will  suffer  no  vacuum;  and  to  refuse 
Christ  as  our  royal  guest  is  to  surrender  ourselves 
to  the  craft  and  power  of  Satan.  Let  me  be  a 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  no  demon  dare  lurk 
in  its  neighbourhood. 


230 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  18 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xxiii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me  in  the  presence  of  mine 
enemies."— Fs.  xxiii.  5 

HOW  the  rich  provisions  of  grace  reach  God's 
people  whilst  they  are  shut  up  by  most 
unpropitious  circumstances !  In  desert  places  our 
God  provides  heavenly  feasts.  Thousands  of  sincere 
men  and  women  are  compelled  to  live  in  neighbour- 
hoods and  work  in  scenes  where  there  is  nothing  to 
feed  the  soul,  yet  even  there  do  they  find  meat  of 
which  the  world  knows  not. 

Multitudes  through  manifold  accidents  are  cut  off 
largely  from  worship  and  sacraments  and  fellowship, 
yet  the  Lord  of  the  feast  by  His  Spirit  and  word 
makes  them  to  share  in  His  dainties. 

Let  me  not  fear  for  the  supplies  of  grace,  whatever 
may  be  my  circumstances.  The  fairy  story  tells  of 
a  magical  table-cloth  which  might  be  spread  any- 
where, and  was  at  once  covered  with  delicacies.  I 
have  that  wonder-working  thing.  Let  the  hand  of 
prayer  spread  the  cloth  of  faith,  and  I  have  the 
bread  of  heaven  and  wine  on  the  lees  well  refined. 


231 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  19 

Scripture  Reading — ^John  vi.  46-71 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We  believe  and  are  sure  that  Thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God." — ^John  vi,  69 

AN  imperfect  attachment  to  Christ  is  good,  just 
as  it  leads  on  to  something  more  profound, 
but  let  me  beware  of  precarious  ties.  He  who  follows 
Christ  from  mere  intellectual  admiration,  or  for  social 
status,  or  for  utilitarian  advantage,  will  very  probably 
before  long  begin  to  doubt  and  desert  him. 

"  Many  of  His  disciples  went  back,  and  walked  no 
more  with  Him."  How  many  have  we  known  who 
from  one  cause  or  another  have  fallen  away  from 
Christian  discipleship !  The  fire  dies  down  in  their 
heart;  the  joy  passes  out  of  their  life;  the  crown 
slips  through  their  fingers.     Alas ! 

This  saddest  of  all  lapses,  in  a  world  where  men 
are  always  missing  great  chances,  can  be  prevented 
only  by  keeping  the  soul  alive  to  the  essential  glory 
of  Jesus  Christ.  "  My  Lord  and  my  God."  Let  me 
daily  recognise  His  majesty,  preciousness,  sweetness. 


232 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  20 

Scripture  Reading— John  xi.  18-46 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  believe  that  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  Got/."— John  xi.  27 

WHAT  power  and  majesty  our  Lord  assumed  ! 
Can  He  be  confounded  with  men?  The 
woman  knew  by  an  instinct  that  will  not  lie  that 
He  was  the  Divine  One.  "  I  believe  that  Thou  art 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God." 

Nowhere  is  the  majesty  of  our  Lord  more  im- 
pressively expressed  than  in  His  dealings  with  death. 
Mythology  records  how  Hercules  successfully  wrestled 
with  Death,  and  brought  back  to  the  upper  world 
the  body  of  Alcestis.  But  how  pale  is  the  classic 
fable  by  the  side  of  the  resurrections  of  the  New 
Testament!  Here  a  mightier  Hercules  smote  the 
King  of  Terrors.  "  He  brought  to  naught  him  that 
hath  the  power  of  death," 

Let  this  fact  comfort  me  in  the  prospect  of  death, 
in  the  article  of  death.  Christ  is  everything  to  me 
to-day,  and  He  will  not  be  less  on  my  last  day. 
No;  then  He  will  be  specially  precious. 


233 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


Auifust  21 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xvii.  1-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"As  He  prayed  the  fashion  of  His  countenance  was  altered." — 
Luke  ix.  29 

USUALLY  our  Lord  appears  in  the  simplicity 
and  weakness  of  ordinary  human  nature,  but 
how  much  did  this  veil !  His  suppressed  magnifi- 
cence suggests  much  to  think  about.  For  a  moment, 
however,  His  disciples  are  dazzled  by  His  majesty. 

It  is  a  good  thing,  when  troubled  by  the  apparent 
weakness  of  the  Church  and  its  gospel,  to  think  of 
the  silent  reserve  power  they  mask.  It  is  not  the 
purpose  of  God  to  dazzle  the  carnal  eye,  but,  all 
the  same,  infinite  majesty  and  strength  pertain  to 
His  Kingdom.  Let  me  never  forget  "  the  hiding  of 
His  power." 

The  transfigured  is  also  the  transfigurer.  He 
causes  the  soul  of  His  people  to  shine  as  the  sun. 
He  makes  their  lives  white  as  the  light.  One 
day  He  will  light  up  their  "too  solid  flesh"  into  a 
heavenly  transparency.  Our  Lord  will  bring  out  our 
vast  possibilities,  02(r  suppressed  magnificence,  con- 
forming our  whole  personality  to  the  body  of  His 
glory. 


234 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  22 

Scripture  Reading— John  xii.  23-33 

Thought  for  the  Day 

'  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  tfie  eartfi,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
Me." — John  xii.  32 

THE  glorifying  of  Christ  is  the  theme.  And  yet 
how  strange  that  the  process  of  glorification  is 
through  sorrow,  suffering  and  sacrifice !  He  attains 
the  power  of  judging  the  world,  and  saving  the  world, 
through  voluntary  obedience  to  the  law  of  renuncia- 
tion, pain  and  death. 

Just  as  the  glory  of  Christ  is  bound  up  with  His 
willing  humiliation  on  our  behalf,  so  the  glory  of  His 
Church  can  spring  only  out  of  following  its  Lord  in 
the  path  of  the  Passion.  The  attempt  to  transfigure 
the  Church  by  marbles,  jewels,  robes  and  pageantries 
is  a  very  superficial  expedient.  She  is  glorified  rather 
by  what  she  puts  off,  by  what  she  gives,  endures, 
renounces,  suffers  for  the  common  salvation. 

Glory  through  sacrifice  is  the  grand  secret. 
Through  sympathy  and  sacrifice  does  Christ  attract 
men  magnetically,  saving  them,  lifting  them  up,  and 
thus  only  can  we  bless  men  in  the  highest  sense. 
Am  I  willing  to  learn  the  lesson,  and  pay  the  price  ? 


235 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  23 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  i.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Father  Himself  loueth  you,  because  ye  have  loved  Me." — 
John  xvi.  27 

'"nr^HE  beginning  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
J_  the  Son  of  God."  We  are  fond  of  penetrat- 
ing to  the  origin  of  things,  and  here  we  get  to  the 
very  fountain  of  that  living  stream  of  truth  and  grace 
which  we  know  as  Christianity, 

How  superficial  and  inadequate  are  the  explana- 
tions given  by  Gibbon  and  other  philosophers  to 
account  for  the  spread  of  the  Christian  faith !  No- 
thing explains  its  power  and  prevalency  except  that 
it  is  the  breaking  forth  into  time  of  the  eternal  love 
and  righteousness.  The  heaven  of  heavens  is  at  its 
back. 

Men  are  fond  of  quoting  the  saying,  "  Hitch  your 
wagon  to  a  star  " ;  but  all  the  stars  are  harnessed  to 
the  Gospel  chariot,  and  He  who  counts  the  stars 
drives  it.  Much  is  against  me,  but  let  me  never 
forget  the  universe'  of  glory  that  is  carrying  me 
forward. 


236 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  24 

ScRiPTTTRE  Reading— John  viii.  12-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  am  the  light  of  the  world. " — John  viii.  12 

AN  ancient  legend  tells  of  one  who  lighted  a  torch 
and  sallied  forth  to  seek  the  sun.  But,  really, 
we  need  no  torch  to  discover  the  sun  ;  the  sun  dis- 
covers itself     We  best  find  it  by  its  own  light. 

"  I  am  the  light  of  the  world."  We  need  no  ex- 
traneous evidence  to  attest  the  Divine  authority  of 
our  Lord.  The  sincere  of  heart  must  recognise  in 
him  "the  master  light,"  and  listening  to  and  obeying 
His  teachings  we  prove  that  light  of  life  which  is 
its  own  witness.  We  need  invent  no  instrument  to 
know  that  the  sun  shines  at  noon ;  and  thousands  of 
men  need  no  laboured  treatises  to  assure  them  of 
the  authority  of  their  Lord;  His  words,  finding 
the  reason,  conscience  and  heart,  bear  witness  of 
Him. 

Many  failed  to  recognise  in  Jesus  a  teacher  sent 
from  God  because  of  their  insincerity  and  hardness  of 
heart.  Many  do  so  still.  Let  us  with  honest  hearts 
listen  to  the  great  Teacher.  He  beareth  witness  of 
Himself,  and  the  Father  that  sent  Him  beareth 
witness  also. 


237 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  25 

Scripture  Reading— Matt,  xviii.  21-35 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"//  thy  brother  trespass  against  thee,  rebuke  him;  and  if  he 

repent,  forgive  him." — Luke  xvii.  3 

FORGIVENESS  such  as  the  New  Testament 
enjoins  is  a  very  difficult  act  indeed,  may  we 
not  say  to  the  natural  man  an  impossible  act? 
When  we  have  been  sorely  wronged  in  feeling, 
reputation,  estate,  or  character,  it  is  not  a  light  thing 
to  forgive  from  the  heart.  Marcus  Aurelius  could 
write,  "  The  best  way  of  revenge  is  not  to  imitate  the 
injury."  Fine,  indeed,  from  the  pagan  source,  but 
signifying  far  less  than  the  absolution  of  the  Christian 
disciple. 

Here,  therefore,  our  Lord  supplies  a  master  motive. 
He  takes  the  subject  to  the  highest  ground.  How 
can  we,  in  the  light  of  Divine  pardoning  love,  be 
severe  on  our  brother!  A  new  and  mighty  motive 
has  been  brought  into  the  realm  of  ethics. 

Let  not  my  hand  be  on  my  brother's  throat  for  an 
hour ;  it  may  strangle  two. 


238 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  26 

Scripture  Reading— Gen.  1.  14-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Forgive,  and  ye  shall  be  forgiven." — Luke  vi.  37 

THE  sovereign  spirit  of  holiness  and  love  has 
been  working  in  the  world  from  the  beginning, 
and  elect  souls  have  transcended  all  the  standards 
and  environments  of  imperfect  ages,  reaching  at  a 
bound  the  ideal.  Was  ever  love  and  clemency  seen 
in  greater  beauty  than  here  ! 

Just  as  Joseph  illustrates  this  Divine  virtue  toward 
those  of  his  own  household,  let  me  remember  how 
domestic  life  is  usually  a  sphere  in  which  we  may 
display  the  gracious  spirit.  How  many  are  the  pos- 
sibilities of  irritation  and  misunderstanding  in  an 
ordinary  household  !  What  heart-burnings  are  there  ! 
What  deep  and  bitter  alienations  are  developed  ! 

Let  charity,  then,  begin  at  home.  Lord,  give  me  a 
large  mind  that  does  not  easily  take  offence,  a  large 
heart  that  easily  forgives  it,  an  understanding  heart 
cleverly  to  smooth  away  the  inevitable  discords. 


239 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  27 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xix.  16-26 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." — Matt.  xix.  19 

IT  is  possible  to  be  good  without  being  good 
enough,  to  be  very  good  yet  not  good  enough. 
This  is  the  moral  of  the  story  in  the  text.  The 
youth  seemed  perfect,  he  evidently  considered  him- 
self perfect,  and  yet  by  a  subtle  touch  of  the  Master 
the  fair  creature  was  found  wanting.  Good  before 
the  Church  and  Society,  he  was  not  "gcod  before 
God." 

And  what  was  wanting  was  vital.  As  if  vaunted 
gold  proved  to  lack  gravity,  as  if  the  glittering  gem 
turned  out  crystal,  Christ  showed  that  really  the 
youth  was  destitute  of  the  faith  without  which  it  is 
impossible  to  please  God,  that  he  lacked  the  love 
without  which  all  the  rest  is  sounding  brass  and 
tinkling  cymbal. 

All  of  which  is  a  solemn  warning  to  me.  When  I 
read  a  narrative  like  this  I  understand  why  the  holiest 
of  men  are  always  bringing  themselves  to  the  touch- 
stone of  the  Spirit's  searching. 


240 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  28 

Scripture  Reading— Deut.  xxxi.  14-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Lord,  He  it  is  that  doth  go  before  thee:  He  will  be  with 
thee." — Deut.  xxxi.  8 

THAT  the  Lord  goes  before  me  I  most  fully 
believe ;  every  day  confirms  my  faith  in  the 
benign  purposefulness  of  life.  That  there  is  a  real 
end,  a  distinct  end,  an  adequate  end  toward  which 
moves  the  individual  and  general  life,  I  am  firmly 
persuaded.  God  is  grand  in  His  endings,  and  I 
know  that  these  frail  sproutings  will  pass  into  purple 
blossoms  and  rare  fruit. 

But  we  enter  into  the  promised  inheritance  through 
dutifulness  toward  the  law.  Some  naturalists  believe 
that  migrating  birds  are  guided  by  the  stars ; 
certainly  God's  pilgrim  children  are.  Keeping  our 
eye  on  the  starry  lights  of  God's  word,  we  shall  find 
the  path  unerringly  to  God's  eternal  rest. 

Let  me  be  a  close  student  of  my  chart ;  stopping 
my  ears  to  the  songs  of  the  Sirens,  shutting  my 
eyes  to  seductive  golden  sands,  braving  threatening 
seas  with  confidence.     I  shall  arrive. 


241 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  29 

Scripture  Reading — Matt,  xviii.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"It  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heauen,  that  one 
of  these  little  ones  should  perish." — Matt.  xviiL  14 

"  O  EE  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones." 
^^  Our  Lord  here  inculcates  sympathy  and 
tenderness  not  only  toward  little  children,  but  also 
toward  that  considerable  class  of  persons  who 
manifest  the  feebleness,  witlessness,  and  helplessness 
of  children.  The  singularly  weak,  the  unskilled  and 
inefficient,  the  "  mean  whites "  of  society,  the  men 
and  women  who  never  get  out  of  the  cradle. 

A  couple  of  volumes  by  a  distinguished  naturalist 
were  recently  published,  setting  forth  his  travels  in 
strange  lands,  and  the  records  were  chiefly  occupied 
with  discussing  the  mosses  of  the  regions  he  visited. 
He  passes  by  stately  palms  and  gorgeous  orchids  to 
describe  the  obscure  and  flowerless  mosses  that  most 
of  us  would  neglect  and  despise.  It  was  thus  with 
our  Lord,  His  heart  was  ever  occupied  with 
humblest  life. 

Have  we  not,  then,  a  duty  here?  The  weak,  the 
needy,  the  "poor  creatures"  of  the  world  of  every 
type,  have  a  special  claim  upon  us,  and  we  must  care 
for  them,  cost  what  it  may. 


242 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  30 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xii.  13-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Take  heed  and  beware  of  couetousness." — Luke  xii.  15 

MONEY  grows  upon  men.  They  do  not  know 
how  sweet  it  is  until  they  have  saved  a  bit, 
then  they  begin  to  be  strangely  enamoured.  If  they 
have  not  tasted  blood  they  have  tasted  gold,  and  a 
mysterious  passion  begins  to  awake,  the  consequences 
of  which  none  may  foresee.  It  brings  with  it  the 
sense  of  importance,  power,  large  possibilities  of 
honour  and  indulgence,  until  in  the  end  the  man  is 
mastered  by  it  and  ruined  by  it,  as  bees  are  some- 
times drowned  in  their  own  honey. 

Let  me  not  forget  that  the  power  and  joy  of  sacri- 
fice grow  upon  those  who  exercise  it.  Pure  passions 
grow  as  well  as  dark  ones.  Men  do  not  know  how 
sweet  it  is  to  relieve,  comfort,  bless,  until  they  have 
done  a  bit,  then  they  too  have  tasted  blood,  the  blood 
that  is  drink  indeed. 

Having  felt  the  luxury  of  doing  good,  they  are  in 
delightful  danger  of  becoming  noble  epicures  who 
shall  finally  regale  themselves  for  ever  at  the  Supper 
of  the  Lamb.  This  is  whereunto  the  appetite  for 
doing  good  will  grow.  So  checkmate  the  base  by 
the  divine. 


243 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


August  31 

Scripture  Reading — Rom,  xii.  1-9 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Abhor  that  which  is  euil ;  cleave  to  that  which  Is  good." — 
Rom.  xii.  1-9 

IN  the  vineyard  are  many  labourers  entrusted  with 
diverse  tasks.  It  must  be  so  if  the  vintage  is  to 
be  gathered.  May  God  save  us  from  the  spirit  of 
criticism  and  exclusiveness  !  In  reading  history  one 
is  struck  by  the  fact  that  so  many  campaigns  have 
ended  disastrously  because  of  the  want  of  unanimity 
in  the  army.  The  various  sections  were  jealous  of 
each  other,  despised  each  other,  did  not  co-operate. 
Does  it  not  often  look  as  if  the  battle  of  the  Church 
is  endangered  from  the  same  cause? 

It  is  incredible  how  many  various  workmen  are 
essential  to  the  making  of  a  pin.  Need  we,  then, 
wonder  how  many  various  agents,  methods,  organisa- 
tions and  instruments  are  necessary  for  the  salvation 
of  a  world  ?  Let  me  be  sure  that  I  do  my  own  work, 
and  do  it  well. 


244 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  1 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  xii.  41-44 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Prepared  unto  every  good  work." — 2  Tim.  ii.  ai 

WE  need  a  large,  reckless,  never-despairing  faith 
in  working  for  God.  We  must  break  up 
the  most  unpromising  ground,  tackle  most  unlikely 
people,  plough  the  sands,  and  throw  in  the  seed  with 
desperate  confidence. 

The  South  African  native  at  the  diamond  mines 
will  save  a  little  money  and  entrust  it  to  his 
employers  ;  but  it  must  be  kept  in  the  rag  in  which 
he  brought  it,  and  every  few  days  he  goes  to  look  at  it. 
This  is  the  spirit  in  which  some  do  good.  They 
must  be  able  to  keep  their  eye  on  it.  They  must  see 
exactly  what  they  have  done,  and  be  able  to  measure, 
weigh,  and  reckon  it. 

How  much  better  to  throw  our  mite  trustfully  into 
the  treasury  of  the  King  !  It  will  not  be  lost ;  it  can- 
not be  lost.     Let  me  boldly  do  good  against  all  odds. 


245 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  2 

Scripture  Reading— i  Tim.  iv 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"But  watch  thou  in  all  things,  endure  afflictions." — 2  Tim.  iv.  5 

A  GREAT  art  critic  has  said  that  a  picture  ought 
to  be  judged  in  the  evening  twilight.  In  the 
sober  Hght  of  eventide  it  is  seen  what  the  merit 
of  the  picture  really  is.  The  glare  of  the  noon  may- 
give  it  tints  which  do  not  belong  to  it,  and  false 
estimates  of  its  worth  are  probable. 

The  evening  twilight  enables  us  most  truly  to 
judge  of  life,  Alas  !  how  many  lives  fail  to  bear  this 
test !  When  the  irradiations  of  imagination  cease, 
when  the  glow  of  vanity  and  pride  fades,  when  the 
lurid  colours  of  passion  die  away,  then  the  poverty 
and  folly  of  the  wasted  life  sadly  appear.  The 
Apostle's  career  bore  triumphantly  the  stern  test 
of  eventide.  Then  its  truth  and  beauty,  its  power 
and  promise,  were  revealed.  The  colours  were  the 
colours  of  heaven. 

Let  me  often  anticipate  the  final  days.  When  they 
arrive  may  they  witness  that  I  have  been  a  brave 
soldier,  a  faithful  steward,  a  winner  of  the  unfading 
crown. 


246 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  3 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xx.  17-28 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister." 

— Matt.  xx.  26 

WE  mistake  as  to  wherein  true  greatness  lies. 
We  fancy  it  to  consist  in  golden  treasure, 
in  soft  raiment,  in  the  likeness  of  a  kingly  crown, 
whilst  our  Lord  shows  that  substantial  glory  is  found 
in  sympathy,  service,  sacrifice. 

Whilst  the  disciples  are  coveting  crowns,  and 
disputing  as  to  which  amongst  them  should  be  the 
greater,  our  Lord  has  an  ear  for  the  cry  of  misery. 
The  multitude  had  no  sympathy,  and  the  disciples 
little,  but  the  majesty  of  God  demonstrated  itself 
in  bringing  salvation  to  the  humble. 

The  stars  of  Christ's  renown  were  the  eyes  He 
opened,  the  castaway  mantle  of  the  blind  was  His 
royal  attire,  His  bodyguard  was  composed  of  those 
whom  He  had  saved,  His  crown  of  glory  was  the 
diamonds  rescued  from  the  dustbin  of  the  despised 
and  forgotten.  I  cannot  open  eyes,  but  I  can  wipe 
away  tears. 


247 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  4 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  viii.  34-38 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  My  sake  and  the  Gospel's, 
the  same  shall  save  it." — Mark  viii.  35 

GREATNESS  is  acquired  and  revealed  by- 
voluntary  sacrifice  on  behalf  of  those  whose 
salvation  can  be  secured  in  no  other  way.  Selfish- 
ness arrayed  in  the  glittering  frippery  of  wealth  and 
pride  is  contemptible ;  the  real  sublime  is  the  mother 
suffering  for  her  child,  the  patriot  bleeding  for  his 
country,  the  rescue  party  braving  death  in  the  burning 
mine,  or  on  the  wild  sea. 

Our  Lord  gave  the  supreme  illustration  of  this, 
and  His  Cross  has  made  paltry  the  magnificence  of 
palaces  and  the  pride  of  kings. 

And  let  me  not  lose  myself  in  the  sublimities  of 
the  thing.  Just  as  the  scientist  can  best  discern  in 
comparative  trifles  the  manifestation  and  working 
of  nature's  supreme  laws  and  forces,  so  may  I  bring 
out  the  fact  and  glory  of  the  principle  of  sacrifice 
in  nameless  deeds  of  love  to  my  neighbour,  in 
trifling  attentions,  in  cups  of  cold  water. 


248 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  6 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  ix.  30-37 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"If  any  man  desire  to  be  first,  the  same  shall  be  last  of  all."— 
Mark  ix.  35 

SCARCELY  a  day  passes  without  showing  us 
fresh  instances  of  vaulting  ambition  over-leaping 
itself  and  falling  on  the  other  side,  of  selfishness 
losing  all  because  it  grasped  too  much,  of  pride 
hiding  its  eyes  in  the  dust. 

Let  us  be  sure  that  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  the  spirit 
through  which  we  shall  possess  life.  The  simple 
win  whilst  the  subtle  fail.  "  There  is  a  profound  as 
well  as  a  superficial  simplicity."  The  unselfish  find 
out  the  strange  truth,  "there  is  that  scattereth  yet 
increaseth." 

In  humility  men  prove  greatness.  "A  really  great 
man  has  always  an  idea  of  something  greater  than 
himself,"  and  this  very  sense  of  something  greater 
is  the  key  to  its  possession. 

Simplicity,  lowliness,  moderation,  here  is  the  secret. 
The  meek  possess  the  earth.  As  Rutherford  writes : 
"  Down,  down,  for  God's  sake,  with  your  topsail ! 
Be  humbled." 


249 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  6 

Scripture  Reading— John  xiii.  1-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  haue  given  you  an  example,  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have 
done  to  you." — John  xiii.  15 

JAMES  SMETHAM  writes:  "I  never  before  saw, 
as  I  have  since  I  tried  to  get  into  it  more, 
the  humbling  influence  of  the  /i/e  of  Christ." 
Yes,  at  every  page  of  that  wonderful  life  we  are 
impressed  with  the  majesty  of  meekness,  the  nobleness 
of  humbleness,  the  luminousness  of  simplicity,  the 
sweetness  of  contentment. 

We  are  always  being  told  of  the  richness,  abund- 
ance, and  variety  in  the  wardrobes  of  our  kings  and 
queens,  but  here  the  King  of  Glory,  passing  on  His 
way,  girds  Himself  with  a  towel !  Oh !  how  He 
has  freed  us  from  illusions !     Helpfulness  is  glory. 

Am  /  freed  from  illusions?  Is  the  principle  of 
my  life  selfishness  or  disinterestedness  ?  As  a  great 
philosopher  puts  it :  "  Magnanimity  owes  no  account 
of  its  motives  to  prudence."  Losing  my  life,  in 
substance,  in  reputation,  in  leisure,  let  me  find  it 
in  finer  quality,  richer  measure. 


250 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  7 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  xlii.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax  shall 
He  not  quench." — Isa.  xlii.  3 

VERY  wonderful  is  the  tenderness  of  God  in 
Christ.  Sir  Philip  Sydney  writes  :  "  Children 
about  a  tender  father  from  a  long  voyage  returned, 
with  lovely  childishness  hang  about  him,  and  yet 
with  simple  fear  measure  by  his  countenance  how  far 
he  accepts  their  boldness." 

So  we,  half-trusting,  half-fearing,  draw  near  to 
God ;  but  we  need  not  be  anxious,  the  bruised  reed 
shall  not  be  broken,  the  faintest  spark  quenched. 

And  this  tenderness  is  over  us  all  lifelong.  Gilbert 
White  relates  that  a  pair  of  fly-catchers  who  in- 
advertently placed  their  nest  in  an  intolerably  hot 
situation,  hovered  over  it  "  all  the  hotter  hours,  while 
with  wings  expanded  and  mouths  gaping  for  breath 
they  screened  the  heat  from  their  suffering  young." 
So  does  the  eternal  Love  hover  over  us,  and  in  all 
the  hotter  hours  screen  us  from  the  heat  of  the  day. 


2;i 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  8 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  x.  32-45 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many." — Mark  x.  45 

MAY  the  Divine  Spirit  this  holy  day  imbue  us 
richly  with  the  genius  of  our  Master,  "  who 
in  a  definite  compass  set  forth  infinite  beauty  ! " 

The  Imitation  of  Christ  was  always  on  the  pillow 
of  Corot,  the  famous  artist.  He  said  it  was  the  book 
which  gave  him  to  live  in  ease  of  heart.  "  I  always 
keep  it  in  my  room,"  he  said,  "  and  read  it  nearly 
every  evening.  It  has  taught  me  that  men  must  not 
be  puffed  up  because  they  are  emperors,  and  add  this 
province  or  that  to  their  territories,  or  because  they 
can  paint  and  win  a  name  for  themselves.  If  these 
men  are  gifted  more  or  less,  I  see  no  merit  attaching 
to  them.  Theirs  is  no  glory  compared  to  that  of  a 
Sister  of  Charity." 

Corot  had  seized  the  marrow  of  the  great  teaching 
of  the  lesson.  Loving  God  and  man,  and  in  the 
grace  of  the  one  seeking  the  salvation  of  the  other, 
is  more  than  all  social  splendour  or  intellectual 
renown. 


252 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  9 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xxi.  1-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Learn  of  me :  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart." — Matt.  xi.  29 

THE  horse  is  in  the  Old  Testament  the  symbol 
of  worldly  brute  power,  whilst  the  ass  repre- 
sents humility  and  unobtrusiveness.  With  what 
silence  and  meekness  our  Lord  entered  upon  His 
mighty  task  !  The  secular  history  of  that  period 
records  the  doings  and  writings  of  a  crowd  of  kings, 
statesmen,  conquerors  and  poets,  but  it  contains 
hardly  an  allusion  to  our  Lord,  His  teachings  or  His 
works. 

And  yet  under  all  this  aspect  of  mildness  what 
power  was  hidden  !  To  ride  an  ass's  wild  colt  was  a 
triumph  indeed.  This  is  what  the  meek  and  patient 
Jesus  has  been  doing  ever  since.  Taming  the  wild 
power,  curbing  the  wild  passions  of  the  nations. 
Bringing  high  thoughts,  irrational  tempers,  defiant 
lusts,  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  reason  and  love. 

King  of  power  and  peace,  put  a  bridle  into  my  lips  ! 
Subdue  my  whole  proud,  restless  being  by  the  magic 
of  Thy  will  and  mastership  1 


253 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  10 

Scripture  Reading— Mark  vii.  31-3J 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Behold,  the  world  is  gone  after  ////w."— John  xii.  19 

THIS  enthusiasm  of  the  mass  left  a  good  deal  to 
be  desired,  but  it  is  very  wonderful  to  note 
how  Christ  fascinates  the  people. 

He  appeals  to  the  crowd  by  His  words.  They 
recognise  in  His  doctrine  a  power  and  grace  found 
nowhere  else.  He  appeals  to  them  by  His  works. 
They  may  not  comprehend  philosophy  and  theology, 
but  they  feel  the  witness  of  Lazarus  raised  from  the 
dead,  the  power  of  Christ  in  men  raised  from  the  death 
of  sin  to  the  life  of  righteousness.  He  appeals  to 
them  by  His  personality. 

Misled  by  their  rulers,  the  multitude  assisted  at  the 
crucifixion,  but  the  unsophisticated  heart  recognised 
the  Deliverer,  and  strewed  His  path  with  palm.  The 
intellect  of  the  great  is  oftener  wrong  than  the  heart 
of  the  simple.  "  The  world  is  gone  after  Him."  Yes, 
it  has.  The  needle  turns  to  the  pole.  "  I  will  go 
also." 


254 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  11 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xix.  37-48 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Hotv  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together  .  .  , 
and  ye  would  not." — Matt,  xxiii.  37 

"  /^^H,  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets  !" 
\_y  For  the  hour  they  were  and  saw  the  glory  of 
the  Lord.  We  all  have  these  times  of  revelation.  In 
privileged  hours  obscuring  unbeliefs  melt  away,  and 
we  see  the  beauty  of  the  Lord,  we  recognise  His 
authority,  we  perceive  the  blessedness  of  His  service. 
The  Orientals  speak  of  a  certain  hour  of  the  morn- 
ing as  the  "  false  dawn."  It  seems  as  if  the  day  were 
breaking,  when  it  suddenly  sinks  back  into  darkness. 
This  scene  of  the  palm-strewing  was  the  last  "  false 
dawn"  of  Jewish  history.  Again  and  again  had  there 
been  mocking  epochs  of  repentance  and  hope,  but 
now  the  final  national  penitence  and  recovery  was  to 
sink  back  into  the  blackness  of  Calvary. 

Let  me  know  the  day  of  my  visitation.  Let  not 
the  great  truths  and  hopes  which  I  see  so  clearly, 
which  I  feel  so  deeply,  ever  be  hidden  from  my  eyes. 


255 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  12 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  viii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  What  is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?" — Ps.  viii.  4 

THE  Psalmist  saw  the  greatness  of  man  in  the 
light  of  nature.  He  did  not  see  exactly 
wherein  that  greatness  lay,  but  marking  man's  place 
in  creation  he  became  conscious  of  the  mysterious 
significance  of  his  kind. 

But  the  great  thought  of  our  reading  is  that  the 
ideal  greatness  of  humanity  is  manifested  in  Jesus 
Christ.  The  glory  set  upon  the  heavens  is  dim  by 
the  excelling  light  of  the  glory  revealed  on  the  earth 
in  the  Son  of  Man. 

The  greatness  of  humanity  is  realised  in  Jesus 
Christ.  He  not  only  shows  us  what  is  possible  for 
us,  but  in  His  faith  and  fellowship  we  awake  to  actual 
greatness  and  blessedness.  The  glory  of  humanity  is 
bound  up  with  Jesus  Christ.  Strewing  branches  for 
the  feet  of  Christ  we  are  strewing  them  for  our  own. 
It  is  in  Him  we  get  the  victory  over  the  beast  and 
his  image ;  that  we  attain  the  mastery  of  the  world  ; 
that  we  vanquish  death. 


256 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  13 

Scripture  Reading— John  ii.  13-22 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Holiness  becometh  Thine  house,  0  Lord,  for  ever." — 
Ps.  xciii.  5 

TO  confound  gain  with  godliness  is  a  most 
heinous  sin.  As  Montesquieu  states  it:  "To 
investigate  our  interests  too  strictly  is  to  apply  a 
sponge  to  all  the  virtues." 

What  is  our  temperance  worth  if  based  only  on 
economy?  What  is  purity  when  tainted  by  calcula- 
tion ?  What  is  love  prompted  by  greed  ?  What  is 
generosity  governed  by  the  thought  of  recompense? 
The  suspicion  of  gain  makes  the  noblest  virtues 
infamous. 

The  Persian  when  in  the  act  of  worship  puts  away 
from  his  person  all  silver  and  gold.  His  instinct  is 
right.  We  must  renounce  all  thought  of  pride  and 
:ovetousness  in  dealing  with  God. 

Is  there  not  a  special  danger  here  in  these  days 
when  secularism  eats-  as  doth  a  canker?  Let  me 
beware  of  making  God's  house  a  barn,  a  marketplace 
a  Stock  Exchange,  a  cattle  market 


257 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  14 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Chron.  xxix.  15-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Mine  house  shall  be  called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  people." — 
ISA.  Ivi.  7 

'"nr^HE  iniquities  of  our  holy  things"  are  many. 

J^  Some  are  quite  obvious.  Making  a  theatre 
of  the  temple ;  a  scene  of  gorgeous  spectacles,  of 
impious  baubles.  Making  of  it  a  music-hall.  Making 
it  a  Vanity  Fair  for  the  display  of  fashion.  Sunday 
"  church  promenades ! "  All  this  is  no  better  than 
the  sin  of  sacrilege. 

Some  of  these  "  iniquities  "  are  more  subtle.  "  And 
the  priests  went  in  unto  the  inner  part  of  the  house 
of  the  Lord  to  cleanse  it."  There  is  not  only  much 
vulgar  rubbish  to  cart  away,  but  secret  faults  which 
only  the  Spirit  of  God  can  disclose  and  cleanse. 
Secret  unbeliefs  which  profane  the  altar,  secret  sins 
which  pollute  the  sacred  vessels,  secret  worldliness 
desecrating  the  table  of  the  Lord,  secret  pride 
offending  the  Divine  Presence. 

We  often  in  puritanic  zeal  talk  of  worshipping 
God  with  "four  bare  walls  and  a  pure  heart,"  but 
it  is  easier  to  get  the  first  than  the  second. 


258 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  15 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xxi.  23-32 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  atone  which  the  builders  rejected,  the  same  is  become  the 
head  of  the  corner." — Matt.  xxi.  42 

A  GENTLEMAN  sowed  on  a  plot  of  carefully 
prepared  soil  some  rare  seeds.  None  ot  them 
grew,  but  a  few  that  accidentally  fell  on  the  hard, 
stony  garden  walk  flowered  sweetly.  Many  Gentiles 
surpassed  the  privileged  Jew.  Many  in  heathen 
lands  to-day  are  entering  the  Kingdom,  whilst  the 
favoured  European  remains  outside.  The  Lazarus 
of  the  East-end  becomes  a  saint,  whilst  Dives  sinks 
into  a  pagan.  In  the  most  unfriendly  surroundings 
are  beautiful  souls;  whilst,  with  everything  to  help, 
others  are  sinners  exceedingly. 

If  the  lot  falls  to  me  in  pleasant  places,  and  I 
have  a  goodly  heritage,  all  will  be  unavailing  if  I 
do  not  stir  up  myself  to  make  the  best  of  golden 
opportunity.  li,  on  the  other  hand,  my  situation 
seems  inimical  to  spiritual  and  moral  life,  let  me 
remember  that  an  earnest  soul  triumphs  over  cir- 
cumstance. The  rose  that  failed  in  the  conservatory 
grows  among  the  stones. 


259 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  16 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xxi.  33-46 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Take  ye  heed,  watch  and  pray." — Mark  xiii.  33 

THERE  is  a  time  of  national  visitation  that 
may  pass  unimproved,  and  not  again  return. 
Speaking  of  art,  Ruskin  writes :  "  No  nation  ever 
had,  or  will  have,  the  power  of  suddenly  developing, 
under  the  pressure  of  necessity,  faculties  it  had 
neglected  when  it  was  at  ease ;  nor  of  teaching 
itself  in  poverty,  the  skill  to  produce,  what  it  has 
never  in  opulence  had  the  sense  to  admire." 

Is  not  this  true  in  regard  to  the  religious  sense 
and  moral  faculty  of  a  nation?  Can  it  in  days  of 
disaster  suddenly  develop  faculties  it  had  neglected 
when  it  was  at  ease?  Can  it  teach  itself  in  adversity 
to  produce  what  it  had  not  the  faithfulness  in  happier 
days  to  admire  and  practise? 

What  is  true  of  a  nation  is  true  of  the  individual. 
Wasted  privilege  may  not  be  retrieved  ;  neglected 
opportunity  atoned  for.  *'  And  thou  mourn  at  thy 
latter  end,  and  say,  How  have  I  hated  instruction, 
and  my  heart  despised  reproof." 


260 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  17 

Scripture  Reading — Jer.  xxv.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Turn  ye  again  now  every  one  from  his  evil  u/ay."— Jer.  xxv.  $ 

'"nr^HESE  three-and-twenty  years,  the  word  of 
J[  the  Lord  hath  come  unto  me,  and  I  have 
spoken  unto  you,  rising  up  early  and  speaking ;  but 
ye  have  not  hearkened."  How  great  the  Divine 
graciousness  !  Through  many  long,  rebellious  years 
does  the  long-suffering  God  bear  with  us ! 

Disregarded  warnings !  It  is  not  one  clear  call 
that  we  get,  but  repeated  calls ;  and,  alas  !  how  deaf 
many  are  to  these  heavenly  entreaties !  We  know 
that  we  ought  to  break  with  sin,  to  follow  Christ,  to 
confess  Christ,  but  we  trifle  and  postpone.  There 
is,  however,  a  last  call ;  are  we  to  hear  that  without 
heeding  it? 

If  not  hitherto,  let  me  now  be  obedient  to  the 
heavenly  vision. 

"I  will  accept  His  offers  now, 
From  every  sin  depart, 
Perform  my  oft -repeated  vow, 
And  render  Him  my  heart," 


261 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  18 

Scripture  Reading— Acts  vii.  37-53 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Most  High  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands." — 

Acts  vii.  48 

THE  impeachment  of  Israel  by  Stephen  charges 
it  with  forgetting  God,  and  violating  the  moral 
law.  They  "  served  the  host  of  Heaven."  They  did 
not  worship  what  was  low,  mean,  small,  impure ;  but 
what  was  lofty,  large,  splendid,  and  chaste — the  starry 
heaven.  But  glorious  as  it  was  it  came  between 
them  and  God,  and  the  issue  of  such  idolatry  was 
unrighteousness  of  the  darkest  type. 

Our  modern  danger  is  not  that  God  will  be  shut 
out  by  vulgar  things,  but  by  things  as  superb  as 
nature,  science,  art,  and  literature ;  He  is  to  be 
hidden  from  our  eyes  by  the  vast,  the  beautiful,  the 
sublime. 

But  whatever  renders  us  forgetful  of  God  means 
before  long  the  bad,  the  base,  the  bitter.  Whatever 
separates  us  from  Christ  implies  degeneration  and 
destruction.  Let  us  be  warned.  If  we  "turn  back 
in  our  hearts  unto  Egypt,"  we  "shall  be  carried 
away  beyond  Babylon."  There  is  an  inevitable  and 
awful  retribution  for  abused  privilege ! 


262 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  19 

Scripture  Reading— Ezek.  xx.  1-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Walk  in  My  statutes,  and  keep  My  judgments,  and  do  them." 
— Ezek.  xx.  19 

HOW  this  admonition  is  repeated  again  and 
again,  as  by  a  peal  of  bells ! 

The  indispensable  thing  in  religion  is  obedience. 
Some  seem  to  think  that  the  seat  of  religion  is  in 
the  imagination.  It  is  in  their  sight  wholly  cestheti- 
cal,  the  poetry  of  life.  Others  argue  as  if  good  and 
beneficent  afTections  constituted  virtue.  Others  act 
as  if  the  whole  duty  of  man  was  a  round  of  ecclesi- 
astical ceremonies.  But,  as  Vinet  writes  :  "  Obedience 
alone  constitutes  moral  good.  It  has  not  pleased  God 
to  be  worshipped  without  being  obeyed.  Religion 
is  always  a  law  and  a  prohibition."  "  Walk,"  "  keep," 
"do." 

"  Do  as  you  are  told,"  says  the  parent  to  the  child. 
"  Do  as  you  are  told,"  cries  the  master  to  the  scholar. 
"  Do  as  you  are  told,"  is  Heaven's  grand  admonition. 
We  have  not  to  sound  depths  of  mystery,  but  to  do 
as  we  are  bid.  Oh !  for  the  spirit  of  simple,  prompt, 
exact  obedience !  The  doing  of  God's  will  without 
questioning,  delay,  or  repining. 


263 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  20 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xiv.  12-24 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  in  the  Kingdom  of  God."— 

Luke  xiv.  15 

HOW  superficial  and  untenable  the  excuses 
offered  for  the  neglect  of  true  religion,  that  is 
the  faith  of  Christ !  "  They  made  Hght  of  it,"  made 
light  of  that  on  which  all  Heaven  concentrates  itself. 

How  frivolous  the  excuses  occasioned  by  property  ! 
"  I  have  bought  a  field."  They  fondly  call  their  lands 
their  own,  and  exhaust  themselves  in  acquiring  an 
inheritance  that  to-morrow  must  pass  to  others.  How 
vain  the  apologies  of  the  commercial !  "  Bought  five 
yoke  of  oxen."  Coveting  gain  and  gold,  and  ignoring 
all  the  mighty  facts  and  hopes  which  make  us  men, 
as  if  they  were  no  better  than  the  oxen  whose  points 
they  canvass.  How  absurd  the  social  subterfuge!" 
"  I  have  married  a  wife."  No  legitimate  social  duty 
or  pleasure  need  stand  in  the  way  of  godliness. 

Let  nothing  separate  between  me  and  the  Gospel 
of  the  glory  of  the  blessed  God.  If  even  lawful  things 
accidentally  interfere  let  me  renounce  them  without  a 
pang.  It  is  better  to  enjoy  the  King's  love  than  to 
possess  the  King's  gold. 


264 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  21 

Scripture  Reading — Prov.  ix. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Forsake  the  foolish  and  Hue,  and  go  in  the  way  of  understand- 
ing."— Prov.  ix,  6 

" ''  I  ^HE  feast  of  reason  and  the  flow  of  soul,"  how 
J_  pure  and  lovely  !  How  infinitely  more  noble 
and  delightful  is  the  intellectual  than  all  sensual 
gratifications  !  Her  house  is  of  celestial  architecture, 
her  wine  without  dregs,  her  table  allures  with  sweet 
morsels,  the  virgins,  her  companions,  minister  in  un- 
spotted white. 

But  if  the  voice  of  philosophy  is  thus  musical  as  is 
Apollo's  lute,  and  her  viands  sugared  sweets,  how 
ineffable  is  that  diviner  wisdom  which  concerns  itself 
directly  with  God  Himself,  His  Kingdom,  law,  and 
righteousness ! 

In  the  Lord  Jesus  we  have  the  last  revelation  of 
Wisdom,  the  fullest  expression  of  divine  Philosophy. 

Let,  then,  my  chief  joy  be  in  this  banqueting 
chamber.  Let  me  leave  gross  things  for  high  delights 
of  reason  and  knowledge;  let  me  then  ascend  to  the 
highest  delights  of  the  spirit  in  the  fellowship  of  the 
Lord  Jesus. 


265 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  22 

Scripture  Reading — Acts  xiii.  42-52 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  have  set  thee  to  be  a  light  of  the  Gentiles." — Acts  xiii.  47 

HISTORY  makes  us  familiar  with  the  forfeiture 
of  great  gifts  and  privileges.  But  whilst  one 
nation  fails,  another  is  entrusted  with  its  stewardship  ; 
God's  purpose  cannot  be  baulked  through  the  faith- 
lessness of  men  or  empire.  We  may  despair  of  a 
nation,  never  of  humanity;  of  a  Church,  never  of  the 
Kingdom. 

If  England  prove  faithless  to  her  high  calling,  yet 
God  abides  faithful.  The  vineyard  is  "  given  to 
others,"  the  removed  candlestick  sheds  its  light  else- 
where. Will  England  in  coming  ages  know  a  "  wailing 
place  "  where  it  will  weep  over  its  forfeited  glory,  as 
the  modern  Jew  amid  the  ruins  of  Jerusalem  bewails 
the  humiliation  of  his  faithless  nation? 

Let  me  beware  of  losing  my  personal  gifts  and 
opportunities.  The  figures  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  in 
the  Place  de  la  Concord,  Paris,  covered  with  funeral 
wreaths,  tell  the  grief  of  a  nation  at  the  loss  of 
provinces  ;  but  what  does  it  mean  to  lose  an  immortal 
crown  and  inheritance? 


266 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  23 

Scripture  Reading — Prov.  i.  20-33 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  Whoso  hearheneth  unto  Me  shall  dwell  safely." — Prov.  1.  33 

HOW  fully  is  the  truth  of  our  position  set 
before  us  by  God's  Word !  We  cannot 
plead  ignorance.  A  fierce  light  is  made  to  fall  on 
our  situation.  We  are  instructed,  we  are  warned, 
we  are  entreated. 

And  yet  how  criminally  we  neglect  warning  and 
scorn  reproof!  The  French  Ambassador  at  Berlin 
exactly  informed  his  master  of  the  warlike  temper 
and  preparations  of  the  Germans,  but  these  warning 
letters,  after  the  calamity  that  overtook  the  gay 
nation,  were  found  in  the  royal  palace  unopened.  So 
tens  of  thousands  disregard  the  appeals  of  God's 
Word. 

"  See  that  no  man  take  thy  crown."  The  bitterest 
grief  is  not  occasioned  by  what  is  torn  from  us  by 
stern  circumstance,  but  by  what  is  lost  through  pre- 
sumption, apathy,  folly  and  faithlessness.  "  How 
camest  thou  in  hither,  not  having  a  wedding  garment  ? 
And  he  was  speechless."  A  thousand  excuses  now, 
not  one  then. 


267 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  24 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  xiii.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"If  thou  do  that  which  is  euil,  be  afraid." — Rom.  xiii.  4 

THE  faith  of  Christ  is  eminently  favourable  to 
civil  welfare.  Sceptics  have  repeatedly  de- 
clared that  the  religious  idea  ought  to  be  respected 
and  the  Church  patronised  because  of  their  restraining 
influence  on  the  lawless. 

The  fact  is  that  the  fear  of  God  and  the  faith  of 
Christ  strengthen  and  hallow  all  social  and  civic  bonds, 
and  are  to  be  cherished  because  they  are  at  once  true 
and  ameliorative. 

We  respect  the  law,  we  honour  the  magistrate, 
because  without  order  there  can  be  no  security, 
happiness,  or  progress  for  the  community.  Sick  of 
tumult  and  revolution  involving  profound  public 
misery,  a  sceptic  like  George  Sand  could  write :  "  It 
is  high  time  we  had  lights  that  are  not  incendiary 
torches." 

Jesus  Christ  gave  us  those  "lights."  Personal 
goodness,  the  love  of  our  neighbour,  the  doctrine  of 
the  Cross,  the  spirit  of  moderation,  patience,  and 
aspiration  toward  the  City  of  God.  Let  these 
"  lights  "  put  out  incendiary  torches. 


268 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  25 

Scripture  Reading— Deut.  vi.  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Thou  ahaltfear  the  Lord  thy  God  and  serve  ////n."— Deut.  vi.  13 

OBEDIENCE  to  the  highest  law  secures  national 
prosperity.  It  has  been  profanely  declared 
that  there  is  "  no  law  that  reaches  above  the  mountain 
tops,"  nothing  more  binding  than  human  codes.  If 
the  top  of  Sinai  were  meant  we  would  not  dispute, 
for  its  law  descended  out  of  heaven  from  God.  The 
nation  that  comes  nearest  to  its  keeping  is  a  sovereign 
people ;  and  he  who  observes  it  most  faithfully  is  the 
noblest  and  happiest  of  men. 

We  are  told  by  travellers  that  it  is  not  wise  to  ask 
the  Indians  to  do  any  kind  of  work  as  a  task.  But 
take  them  as  for  a  walk,  they  are  all  alacrity  to  climb 
or  cut  down  the  trees,  the  gathering  of  the  flowers 
being  all  the  while  represented  as  a  mere  matter  of 
amusement.  Such  are  savages,  incapable  of  serious- 
ness, duty,  purpose. 

The  civilised  man  is  such  because  of  his  growing 
respect  for  law ;  he  has  seen  that  self-limitation  and 
duty  are  essential  to  fuller,  worthier  life.  The  saint 
understands  that  loving  obedience  to  the  highest  law 
means  the  best  on  earth  and  in  heaven. 


269 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  26 

Scripture  Reading — Lev.  xix.  9-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Thou  shalt  not  hate  thy  brother  in  thine  heart."— Lev.  xix,  17 

WHAT  a  lovely  passage  !  A  bundle  of  myrrh, 
the  perfume  of  frankincense,  the  scent  of 
Lebanon !  We  are  assured  by  geologists  that  all  the 
most  beautiful  things  of  our  world  came  late.  The 
birds  with  their  music,  the  butterfly  with  its  splendour, 
the  orchid,  the  rose,  and  lily  were  among  the  latest 
creations. 

So  we  conclude  that  only  in  the  later  revelation  of 
the  New  Testament  are  the  highest  and  loveliest 
moral  teachings  inculcated.  Yet  here,  in  the  morning 
of  the  ages,  the  most  exquisite  social  duty  is 
enjoined !  Nothing  in  the  whole  Bible  is  more 
delightful. 

We  shall  need  all  the  grace  of  the  New  Testament 
to  reach  the  ideals  of  the  ancients.  There  is  a 
terrible  Bulgarian  proverb:  "May  God  think  of  you 
as  your  neighbours  think!"  Let  me  act  so  justly 
and  generously  to  my  neighbour,  with  so  much 
courtesy,  consideration,  and  magnanimity,  that  he 
shall  think  handsomely  of  me,  and  that  God  shall 
do  the  same. 


270 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  27 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  viii.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  To  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and  peace.  "—Rom.  viiL  6 

HERE,  again,  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with 
the  sovereign  power  of  regeneration  and 
sanctification,  and  there  is  the  utmost  need  that  we 
should  remind  ourselves  of  it  and  realise  it.  St.  Paul 
tells  that  he  fought  with  beasts  at  Ephesus,  but  long 
before  that  he  makes  it  clear  that  he  had  found  a  den 
of  wilder  beasts  within  his  own  breast.  And  when 
the  science  of  our  day  finds  the  relics  of  ancient 
animality  in  us,  fierce  and  foul,  we  are  not  surprised  ; 
we  knew  that  all  along. 

But  think  of  the  holy  power  working  in  the 
believer !  The  Spirit  of  Christ,  the  Spirit  of  God, 
the  omnipotent  saving  energy !  He  who  brought  the 
world  out  of  chaos  delivers  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death,  and  energises  us  to  walk  in  newness  of  life. 
It  is  not  a  human  power  in  which  we  trust,  but  one 
altogether  divine.  More  than  the  strength  of  the 
stars,  the  pull  of  gravitation,  the  throb  of  the  ocean, 
the  quickening-  of  the  sun,  work  in  us  to  make  us 
pure,  and  to  keep  us  so.  Let  us  not  then  be  afraid 
of  "  the  power  of  darkness,"  nor  of  all  the  wild  beasts 
that  roam  in  it. 


271 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  28 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xxv.  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Watch  therefore,  for  ye  know  neither  the  day  nor  the  hour 
wherein  the  Son  of  Man  cometh." — Matt,  xxv,  13 

THE  tragedy  of  the  light  that  failed  !  The  fact 
that  their  "  lamps  are  going  out "  shows  that 
those  they  represent  have  a  measure  of  grace.  They 
possess  the  vital  thing  in  insufficient  measure. 

It  is  manifestly  possible  that  we  outlive  our  faith. 
Either  the  events  of  life  or  doubtful  reasonings 
quench  the  light  of  high  belief,  and  leave  us  like  the 
explorer  of  the  catacombs  whose  torch  is  extinguished. 
Our  love  may  wax  cold,  and  its  sweet  light  glimmer 
to  extinction.  Our  duties  of  meditation,  prayer,  and 
worship  may  little  by  little  be  neglected,  until  we 
have  no  longer  pleasure  in  them,  and  the  power  of 
godliness  departs  and  nothing  is  left  but  the  form. 

Let  me  be  solicitous  that  my  lamp  is  kept  brightly 
burning.  This  is  the  grand  point.  Daily  may  I 
replenish  the  soul  with  sacred  oil.  Then,  when  the 
candle  of  my  natural  life  fails  and  flickers,  my 
spiritual  life  shall  glow  into  the  glory  of  the  King's 
banquet. 


272 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  29 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xix.  11-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"From  him  that  hath  not,  even  that  he  hath  shall  be  taken 
away  from  him." — Luke  xix,  26 

IT  is  astonishing  how  spiritual  power  may  be 
multiplied,  moral  character  and  life  enhanced, 
by  diligent,  faithful,  persevering  service.  Our  re- 
ligious possibilities  are  immense. 

A  few  years  ago  the  sweet-pea  was  one  of  the 
poorest  and  most  despised  of  flowers,  but  a  gentleman 
devoted  himself  to  its  special  culture,  and  it  has 
become  the  pride  of  the  garden,  the  peer  of  the  roses, 
the  rival  of  gorgeous  lilies,  the  loveliest  of  lovely 
things. 

Here  see  a  parable  of  the  soul  true  to  grace.  We 
are  poor  in  knowledge,  vision,  strength,  joyousness, 
general  efficiency  and  fruitfulness,  not  because  we  are 
constitutionally,  organically  inferior,  but  because  we 
do  not  realise  ourselves  in  the  light  of  the  truth,  in 
the  power  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  all  in  us,  and  if  once 
the  quickening  energy  stir  the  soul  we  shall  unfold  to 
unexpected  perfection. 


273 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


September  30 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xxv.  31-46 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His  glory,  and  all  the  holy 
angels  with  Him."— Matt,  xxv,  31 

THE  Son  of  Man  is  the  final  judge.  We  are  not 
to  be  judged  by  a  moral  code,  by  certain 
abstract  rules  and  principles,  but  by  the  standard  of 
character  and  action  revealed  in  Christ  Jesus  and 
expounded  in  His  Gospel. 

Our  relation  to  Christ  and  His  Kingdom  is  the 
standard  of  decision.  This  relation  is  not  conven- 
tional, a  thing  of  tradition  and  forms ;  it  is  not  a 
question  of  doctrine,  a  matter  of  barren  orthodoxy; 
it  is  not  a  question  of  ecclesiasticism,  membership 
with  the  visible  Church  ;  but  a  living  relation  that 
fills  the  heart  with  Christ's  own  self-sacrificing 
love,  the  hands  with  generous  aid  to  our  neediest 
brothers. 

Richard  Rothe  accuses  certain  religious  enthusiasts 
of  his  day  of  neglecting  practical  helpfulness:  "  You 
Pietists  have  set  before  yourselves  no  work  of  world- 
wide importance  to  accomplish  for  Christ !  Does  it 
not  startle  you  to  hear  it?  "  If  the  charge  were  true 
it  ought  to  have  startled  them,  and  it  may  well 
startle  us. 


274 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  1 

Scripture  Reading— Ezek.  xviii.  25-32 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  He  will  judge  the  world 
in  righteousness." — Acts  xvii.  31 

WE  cannot  too  often  be  reminded  of  our 
personal  responsibility  as  against  collective 
responsibility.  We  are  usually  quite  anxious  that  for 
our  meritorious  qualities  and  deeds  we  shall  not  be 
confounded  with  the  multitude,  but  in  the  day  of 
reckoning  for  misdemeanour  we  are  ready  to  merge 
ourselves  in  the  crowd. 

Yet  individual  responsibility  is  a  solemn  truth,  not 
for  a  moment  to  be  forgotten.  All  modern  know- 
ledge is  intent  on  recognising  the  unit.  Our  fathers 
were  impressed  by  magnitudes,  we  are  more  occupied 
with  the  molecule.  He  who  is  perfect  in  knowledge 
deals  primarily  not  with  races,  nations  and  families, 
but  with  individual  souls. 

And  how  exquisitely  just  will  God  be  !  We  some- 
times think  that  we  discern  signs  of  inequality  in 
His  dealings  with  us,  but  in  our  deepest  self  we  know 
that  this  is  an  absolute  impossibility.  Let  us  waste 
neither  time  nor  feeling  on  any  criticism  of  God's 
ways :  let  us  watch  and  pray  lest  our  way  be  unequal. 


275 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  2 

Scripture  Reading— Rom.  ii.  3-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"There  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  Goo." — Rom.  ii.  11 

TO  what  a  very  slight  extent  are  we  estimated  by 
our  fellows  for  what  we  really  are  !  That  is, 
for  what  we  are  morally  at  heart.  It  has  been  truly 
said  that  "  very  little  of  the  blessing  of  our  fellow- 
creatures'  good  opinion  of  us  is  due,  in  reality,  to  any 
merits,  or,  indeed,  to  any  characteristics,  of  our  own." 
They  estimate  us  rather  in  the  light  of  our  family 
status,  our  social  repute,  our  talents  and  culture,  the 
offices  we  hold,  our  wealth  and  power. 

But  there  is  One  in  whose  reckoning  all  these 
things  of  the  surface  drop  away,  who,  disregarding 
all  gilding  and  veneer,  weighs  the  spirit,  who  knows 
us  for  what  we  are  in  strict  reality. 

Let  me,  then,  appraise  myself  on  the  grounds  of 
what  I  really  am  before  God.  Let  me,  as  far  as 
that  is  possible,  judge  myself  to-day  as  God  will 
judge  me  finally,  let  me  test  myself  by  the  ultimate 
criterion. 


276 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  3 

Scripture  Reading — Heb.  iv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  ua  labour  therefore  to  enter  into  that  rest,  lest  any  man 
fall  after  the  same  example  of  unbelief." — Heb.  iv.  ii 

FEW  things  in  life  are  more  painful  than  to  look 
back  and  recall  the  great  opportunities  we 
neglected,  the  great  things  we  missed. 

But  to  miss  the  one  grand  object  of  life !  This  is 
the  dire  catastrophe  we  have  most  to  fear.  Perhaps 
we  sometimes  exaggerate  the  importance  of  the 
chances  we  ignored,  the  value  of  things  we  threw 
away ;  the  fish  that  escapes  the  angler  is  always  the 
biggest :  but  we  cannot  exaggerate  the  importance  of 
the  grace  and  salvation  that  make  a  success  of  this 
life  and  the  next.  If  we  ignore  the  blessings  that  are 
now  freely  given  to  us  of  God,  we  inflict  upon  our- 
selves a  loss  for  which  there  is  no  remedy. 

Let  me  seize  the  present ;  these  are  the  golden 
hours,  the  critical  moments ;  they  are  big  with  fate. 
The  Spirit  is  ever  telling  me  this.  Lord,  arouse  my 
drowsy  sense. 


277 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  4 

Scripture  Reading — Matt,  xx.  i-i6 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Behold  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee;  He  is  just,  and  having 
salvation," — Zech.  ix.  9 

SOME  persons  appear  to  have  a  much  more 
manageable  constitution  than  others.  We  all 
know  men  whose  temper  is  such  that  they  must  ever 
be  held  in  with  bit  and  bridle,  and  it  is  with  them  a 
long  and  bitter  struggle  to  rule  their  flesh  and  spirit. 

With  others  the  softness  and  geniality  of  their 
disposition  is  such  that  the  laws  and  duties  of  the 
Christian  life  seem  quite  natural  and  easy. 

Some  seem  to  have  a  much  easier  lot  than  others. 
From  first  to  last  life  is  smooth  with  one,  rough  and 
bitter  throughout  with  another.  Some  seem  to  slip 
into  heaven  at  the  last  five  minutes,  whilst  another 
suffers  conflict  and  sorrow  through  a  long  lifetime. 

Let  me  not  perplex  myself  "  They  supposed  they 
would  receive  more."  Let  me  drop  my  suppositions 
and  leave  all  with  God.  "  He  is  just,  and  having 
salvation."  What  more  do  I  wish  to  know?  There 
will  be  no  defect  of  justice,  only  an  excess  of  grace 
will  surprise  us.  The  excess  of  grace  will  surprise  us 
all.  The  final  problem  will  be  the  greatness  of  God's 
love. 


278 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  5 

Scripture  Reading— John  xii.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  house  was  filled  with  the  odour  of  the  ointment." — John 
xii.  3 

THERE  is  an  economy  that  is  truly  admirable; 
to  this  our  Lord  gave  His  sanction  when  the 
fragments  of  His  divinely-created  feast  were  gathered 
into  baskets.  This  economy  in  magnificence  was 
most  striking. 

Here  the  Master  teaches  the  complementary  lesson 
of  magnificence  even  in  sight  of  the  needs  of  poverty. 
While  respecting  the  claims  of  prudence,  we  must  not 
refrain  from  giving  play  to  the  finer  feelings  of  the 
heart  —  the  impulses  of  love,  reverence,  devotion, 
sacrifice.  Poetry  must  not  be  extinguished  on  the 
urgency  of  pence. 

Let  me  be  careful  not  to  discourage  the  warm, 
spontaneous,  expansive  emotions  of  the  soul  as  they 
are  evoked  by  the  presence  of  Jesus  and  the  claims  of 
His  Kingdom. 

"  We  must  be  ready  for  the  right  moment.  Genius 
is  perhaps  not  so  rare  as  the  five  hundred  hands  to 
seize  opportunity  by  the  forelock."  With  at  least 
two  hands  let  me  grasp  my  great  opportunity.  Jesus 
is  passing  by.     Now  or  never  1 


279 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  6 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  x.  38-42 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Mary  hath  chosen  that  good  part  which  shall  not  be  taken 
away  from  her." — Luke  x.  42 

THE  Master  does  not  extol  sentiment  at  the 
expense  of  practical  duty.  We  once  knew  a 
lady  who  sat  for  hours  mooning  over  religious  themes, 
and  who  grew  quite  lyrical  on  the  subject  of  entire 
sanctification,  whilst  her  fire-grate  was  choked  with 
ashes,  and  her  house  became  a  veritable  chaos.  She 
mistook  herself  for  Mary. 

Our  Lord  delicately  touches  the  defect  of  Martha 
in  the  word  "cumbered,"  or,  as  it  is  given  in  the 
margin,  "  distracted."  Simply,  we  must  not  allow 
legitimate  cares  to  impair  our  full  and  free  fellowship 
with  our  Master.  It  is  here  that  so  many  of  us  err. 
The  sisters  represent  two  types,  in  themselves  equally 
admirable ;  as  an  old  writer  puts  it,  Martha  is  good 
before  dinner,  and  Mary  after.  Happy  the  Christian 
who  combines  the  two  ! 

"  One  thing  is  needful,"  essential — the  pure  love 
and  service  of  the  Master ;  after  that,  few  things 
suffice.  "  One  thing  I  know."  I  know  Christ  has 
opened  my  eyes,  and  I  behold  His  beauty.  "  One 
thing  I  do."  I  lovingly  seek  to  please  and  serve 
Him. 


280 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  7 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  iv.  16-24 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  Me,  because  He  hath  anointed 
Me  to  preach  the  Gospel." — Luke  iv.  18 

NO  wonder  that  they  wondered.  Here  was  one 
who  spake  living  words.  Not  the  cold,  dry, 
formal,  Rabbinical  talk  with  which  they  had  been 
so  long  familiar,  but  vital  breathings.  A  recent 
invention  has  made  it  possible  for  heart-beats  to  be 
heard  at  a  distance.  These  listeners  at  Nazareth 
heard  heart-beats,  the  throbbings  of  the  largest, 
truest,  tenderest  heart  that  ever  beat  in  a  human 
bosom. 

"  Wondered  at  the  words  of  grace."  They  dropped 
as  the  gentle  dew  upon  the  place  beneath.  The 
world  was  thirsting  for  such  a  message — a  hard, 
dark,  cruel,  despairing  world. 

Good  tidings  to  the  humble,  release  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  devil,  recovering  of  the  inner  vision 
of  God  and  the  wider  horizons,  comfort  and  healing 
for  the  bruised  and  bleeding  heart,  the  dawning  of 
the  golden  year  of  universal  salvation,  these  were 
the  messages  that  fell  like  heavenly  music  on  the  ear. 

Lord,  I  too  am  listening ;  speak  to  me  the  words 
that  shall  make  my  heart  burn  within  me  I 


281 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  8 

Scripture  Reading— John  xiv.  15-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  that  hath  My  commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is 
that  loueth  Me." — ^John  xiv.  21 

THE  intimate  oneness  of  law  and  love  !  Law  is 
love  defined,  love  is  law  in  essence  and  power. 
We  prove  our  love  to  Christ  by  keeping  His  com- 
mandments, by  keeping  His  commandments  we 
abide  in  His  love. 

The  best  legacy  that  any  man  can  bequeath  the 
race  is  great  thoughts,  heightened  ideals,  enlarged 
and  assured  hope.  This  is  the  reason  why  we 
think  so  highly  of  the  master  authors  from  Plato 
to  Shakespeare. 

Christ's  grand  gift  to  the  race  was  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  righteousness,  and  love,  and  the  more  loyal 
we  are  to  this  Spirit  in  character,  in  actual  life  and 
conduct,  the  more  certainly  are  we  Christ's. 

And  in  personal  faithfulness,  in  positive  obedience, 
we  realise  most  intimately  the  presence,  love,  and 
blessing  of  God.  "  If  a  man  love  Me,  he  will  keep 
My  word  ;  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will 
come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 
In  keeping  the  word  of  Christ  we  prove  divine 
fellowship.  Action  is  also  prayer,  availing  prayer 
of  the  highest  kind. 


282 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  9 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  xxii.  7-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"This  cup  18  the  New  Testament  in  My  blood,  which  is  shed  for 
you." — Luke  xxii.  20 

HOW  strikingly  simple  the  place,  vessels  and 
associations  of  the  Last  Supper !  Entirely 
devoid  of  the  pomp  of  circumstance  which  attends 
the  feasts  of  the  rich,  the  banquets  of  kings.  We 
are  taught  by  this  that  the  spiritual  principle  is  the 
essential  thing  in  the  commemoration  of  the  Lord's 
death.  It  is  not  designed  as  an  appeal  to  the  senses, 
a  festival  for  the  imagination,  but  as  a  simple  love 
token,  reminding  us  of  Love's  supreme  sacrifice. 

An  enthusiast  in  art  writes :  "  The  man  who 
drinks  from  a  wooden  bowl  is  nearer  to  the  brute 
that  drinks  from  a  stone  trough  than  he  who  quenches 
his  thirst  from  a  crystal  cup."  It  may  be  so,  or  it 
may  not ;  but  he  who  realises  the  spiritual  blessing 
of  personal  pardon  and  peace  through  the  simplest 
ceremony  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  is  far  nearer  the 
Lord's  ideal  than  he  who  at  gorgeous  altars  chiefly 
satisfies  his  aesthetic  sense. 

Let  no  shadow  or  symbol  rob  me  of  the  precious 
substance  —  the  realisation  of  the  Saviour's  merit 
and  grace. 


283 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  10 

Scripture  Reading— Ex.  xii.  21-28 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Christ  our  Passover  is  sacrificed  for  us." — i  Cor.  v.  7 

AS  the  angel  of  death  passed  by  the  Israelites 
when  he  saw  the  blood  on  the  lintel,  so  shall 
the  angel  of  retribution  spare  those  who  have  found 
refuge  in  the  Cross. 

Flippant  men  suppose  that  nothing  is  easier  than 
the  forgiveness  of  sin.  They  cannot  believe  that  it 
presents  any  difficulty  to  God.  But  it  has  justly 
been  said,  "  A  fault  is  not  effaced  because  we  re- 
proach ourselves  with  it."  No,  it  strikes  infinitely 
deeper  than  that;  it  loudly  calls  for  atonement  or 
punishment,  and  all  revelation  teaches  that  the 
supreme  act  of  Divine  wisdom  and  power  was  the 
provision  of  redemption  for  a  world  of  sinners. 

That  redemption  is  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  shed 
for  me.  "  Being  now  justified  by  His  blood,  we 
shall  be  saved  from  the  wrath  of  God  through  Him." 
I  do  not  understand  the  mystery  of  redemption,  as 
I  do  not  understand  many  other  mysteries ;  but  if 
I  am  not  forgiven,  healed,  perfected  through  the 
Crucified,  I  see  no  other  way  of  escape  from  the  law 
of  retribution.  It  is  either  the  red  cross  or  the  red 
sword. 


284 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  11 

Scripture  Reading— Rom.  v,  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"While  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us."— Rom.  v.  8 

"  T     ET  us  have  peace."     "  Let  us  rejoice  in  hope." 

I  ^  "Let  us  also  rejoice  in  our  tribulations." 
The  Apostle  exhorts  us  to  claim  our  great  privileges. 

We  have  read  a  good  deal  lately  about  un- 
claimed funds  in  the  great  banks,  about  unclaimed 
prizes,  dividends,  and  legacies,  it  would  seem  that 
mighty  treasures  await  undiscovered  proprietors  and 
heirs. 

But  what  spiritual  wealth  lies  unclaimed !  "  Let 
us  have  peace."  Many  of  us  have  very  little.  "  Being 
justified  by  faith,"  we  have  a  right  to  peace.  Let 
us  claim  our  inheritance,  let  us  enter  upon  it.  "  Let 
us  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."  Gold,  jasper, 
pearl,  all  manner  of  precious  stones,  harps,  crowns, 
everlasting  light  and  song — all  are  ours.  Claim  it, 
taste  the  earnest  of  it.  "  Let  us  rejoice  in  our  tribula- 
tions," Triumphant  strength  is  ours  in  Christ ;  ours 
for  the  asking. 

Great  gifts,  experiences,  blessings  are  mine;  let 
me  then  claim  them,  live  as  if  they  were  mine.  Why 
live  with  a  mere  title,  without  the  estate  ? 


285 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  12 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xxvi.  36-46 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"In  all  things  it  behoved  Him  to  be  made  like  unto  His  brethren." 
— Heb.  ii.  17 

VERY  clearly  does  our  Lord  apprehend  the  frailty 
of  human  nature,  and  most  delicately  does 
He  sympathise  with  us  in  our  infirmity.  Frailty  and 
fault  are  often  so  subtly  intermingled  in  human 
nature  that  we  are  unable  to  determine  whether  an 
act  is  a  frailty  to  be  condoned,  or  a  fault  to  be 
condemned. 

It  is  good  to  know  that  our  Heavenly  Father 
comprehends  us  perfectly  alike  in  our  strength  and 
weakness.  "  He  knoweth  our  frame ;  He  remembereth 
that  we  are  dust."  Our  Lord  gives  this  tender  truth 
a  fresh  setting,  and  an  enhanced  richness  and  force. 

The  sympathy  of  God  in  Christ  is  a  wonderfully 
healing  thought  When  I  am  perplexed  by  my 
moods  and  doings,  hardly  knowing  whether  to  excuse 
or  chide  myself,  let  me  submit  myself  with  confidence 
and  hope  to  Him  who  urges  for  all  sincere  souls  the 
strong  and  loving  apology,  "The  spirit  indeed  is 
willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak." 


286 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  13 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  xxvi.  47-56 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  Thy  will  be  done."— Matt.  xxvi.  42 

IET  me  never  despair  of  my  Master  because  he 
_^  appears  weak,  nor  of  His  cause  because  it  seems 
to  fail,  nor  of  myself  because  apparently  forlorn  and 
helpless. 

Even  in  Gethsemane  our  Lord  was  the  conscious 
Master  of  measureless  power.  "  Even  now  send  Me 
more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels,"  There  is  a  vast 
ocean  of  power  at  the  back  of  things  awaiting  our 
Lord's  bidding.  In  the  moment  of  His  deepest 
abasement  He  was  conscious  of  this.  In  Gethsemane 
He  felt  the  pulse  of  omnipotence. 

Let  me  often  dwell  to  my  great  comfort  on  the 
reserve  power  of  my  Lord.  He  who  revealed  His 
Divine  authority  in  being  able  to  summon  legions  of 
angels,  and  who  more  fully  revealed  the  sufficiency 
of  His  power  by  not  calling  them,  can  fully  take  care 
of  Himself,  and  of  His  cause,  and  of  me,  even  when 
the  worst  comes  to  the  worst,  and  when  to  the  carnal 
eye  everything  appears  desperate  and  lost. 


287 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  14 

Scripture  Reading — Heb.  v.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 

'•  Though  He  were  a  Son  yet  earned  He  obedience  by  the  things 
which  He  suffered. " — Heb.  v.  8 

"/^^OMPASSED   with    infirmity,"    appointed    to 
\^_^     suffering,  our  Lord  entered  into  the  deepest 
experience  of  humanity,  and  attained  the   secret  of 
perfect  obedience  to  the  will  of  God. 

We  may  see  in  our  suffering  Lord  how  through 
sanctified  suffering  we  attain  harmony  with  the 
eternal  will.  One  of  the  greatest  of  modern  artists 
reminds  his  young  brethren  that  artistic  perfection  is 
not  reached  through  easy  and  pleasant  exercises,  but 
through  battles  and  agonies.  How  much  more  the 
immortal  perfection  of  the  spirit ! 

Let  me  not  resent  the  discipline  of  trial.  A  famous 
traveller  tells  us  that  it  is  a  principle  thoroughly 
believed  in  by  all  Asiatics,  that  the  bitterer  the  remedy 
the  more  efficacious  it  is.  This  may  not  be  true  in 
physics,  but  it  is  certainly  true  in  morals,  when  our 
sorrows  are  ordained  by  God  and  accompanied  by 
His  grace.  Let  me  not,  then,  wear  the  fool's  cap  in 
the  school  of  suffering,  but  fully  learn  the  great 
lessons  of  submission,  patience,  trust. 


288 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  15 

Scripture  Reading — John  xviii.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Being  made  perfect,  He  became  the  author  of  eternal  salva- 
tion."— Heb.  v.  9 

OUR  garments  are  not  made  white  through  our 
own  suffering,  our  hearts'  blood,  but  through 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  His  agony  brings  us  peace. 
Yet  the  purchased  perfection  is  attained  through 
personal  pain. 

"  The  cup  which  the  Father  hath  given  Ale^  shall  I 
not  drink  it  ?  "  Have  we  not  sometimes  seen  a  parent 
coaxing  a  child  to  take  a  distasteful  medicine?  The 
little  one  is  assured  that  the  bitterness  is  nothing,  the 
draught  is  guilefully  disguised,  sweets  and  toys  are 
promised  as  allurements,  and  at  length  the  cup  is 
sipped.  Sipped,  and  therefore  all  its  bitterness  tasted, 
and  it  is  with  utmost  persuasion  that  at  last  the 
medicine  is  swallowed. 

So  much  difficulty  has  God  with  His  children. 
We  sip  when  we  ought  boldly,  trustingly  to  drink. 
And  yet  the  cup  He  gives  us  is  the  cup  of  salvation. 
Let  me  welcome  it,  calling  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord. 


289 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  16 

Scripture  Reading— John  xvii.  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners." — 
Matt.  xxvi.  45 

HOW  the  death  of  Christ  is  here  distinguished 
from  the  death  of  martyrs,  and  raised  infinitely- 
above  and  beyond  such  deaths,  however  glorious  they 
may  be !  The  bold  identification  of  Himself  with 
the  Father's  glory  and  with  His  eternal  will  and 
purpose  invests  the  Lord's  passion  and  death  with 
infinite  significance. 

Nothing  is  more  wonderful  in  this  lesson  than  its 
conclusion.  "  That  they  may  have  my  joy  fulfilled 
in  themselves."  Joy  was  the  last  thing  we  were 
thinking  about  amid  these  sad  scenes.  Yet  the 
suffering  Master  knew  through  all  His  agony  the 
eternal  joy,  and  He  suffered  that  we  might  share  with 
Him  that  joy. 

There  was  a  law  in  Jerusalem  that  residents  were 
not  to  grow  roses  in  the  city  or  keep  a  rose-garden 
close  to  the  walls.  But  really  in  Gethsemane  spring 
the  most  lovely  and  delicious  of  all  roses,  white  and 
red — the  white  of  a  heavenly  purity,  the  red  of  a 
glowing  joy  whose  leaf  does  not  wither. 


290 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  17 

Scripture  Reading— John  xv.  18-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"//  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  Me  before  it 
hated  you." — John  xv.  18 

IT  is  often  repeated  that  to  behold  beauty  is  to 
admire  it,  that  to  know  the  lovely  is  to  love  it, 
that  we  must  of  necessity  reverence  the  good  when 
we  see  it.  This  may  be  the  case  when  human  nature 
is  sound  and  wise ;  but  when  it  is  morbid,  ignorant, 
prejudiced,  we  know  that  it  is  not  the  case. 

So  was  it  with  our  Lord.  His  countrymen  saw  no 
beauty  that  they  should  desire  Him.  How  could 
j'aundiced  eyes  behold  His  glory,  or  vitiated  palates 
taste  the  sweetness  of  His  heavenly  doctrine?  They 
rejected,  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory. 

We  must  not  be  surprised  if  we  share  the  fate 
of  our  Master.  If  we  are  out-and-out  His  disciples 
we  shall  sometimes  be  conscious  of  isolation.  The 
insane  are  apt  to  be  exasperated  by  flowers,  and  to 
root  them  up  fiercely  whenever  they  have  opportunity. 
Spiritual  disease  and  derangement  work  similarly ; 
at  the  presence  of  goodness  sin  revives  and  rages. 
"  But  when  the  Comforter  is  come,"  here  is  the 
sovereign  solace  for  days  of  loneliness  and  persecu- 
tion. 


291 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  18 

Scripture  Reading — i  Pet.  ii.  11-25 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Who,  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again." — i  Pet.  ii.  23 

"  T3  EFORE  I  was  afflicted  I  went  astray,  but  now 
Yj  I  keep  Thy  statutes."  Here  is  the  moral  of 
our  lesson.  The  praises,  the  flatteries  of  our  fellows 
may  easily  relax  and  demoralise ;  buffeting  us,  they 
may  render  us  higher  service. 

In  South  America  the  herds  on  the  plains  become 
enfeebled  by  the  sultry  season,  when  the  hosts  of 
stinging  insects  which  attack  them  drive  them  to 
higher  and  higher  ground,  until  they  attain  cooler 
levels  of  health  and  life.  They  run,  panting  and 
bleeding,  but  it  is  to  tonic  air,  purer  waters,  healthier 
pastures.  So  the  stinging  distresses  of  life  preserve 
us  from  settling  down  on  enfeebling  plains  of 
popularity  and  prosperity;  we  weep  and  bleed,  but 
the  sting  and  spur  of  the  world's  neglect  and  unkind- 
ness  chase  us  to  purer,  safer  heights. 

We  "  were  going  astray  like  sheep ;  but  are  now 
returned  unto  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  your 
souls."  Thank  God  for  the  discipline  that  saves  from 
the  world  and  that  drives  to  the  Shepherd's  bosom  1 


292 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  19 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xxii.  31-34,  54-62 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  /  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not " — Luke  xxii. 
32 

WE  get  a  glimpse  into  a  precious  truth — the 
action  of  the  Redeemer  in  the  hour  of  His 
people's  temptation. 

He  anticipates  the  trial  of  whose  approach  we 
are  unconscious.  Peter  was  profoundly  ignorant  of 
this  diabolic  malice  and  stratagem  in  the  background, 
but  the  Redeemer  was  fully  alive  to  the  crisis,  and 
warned  his  menaced  disciple.  Not  only  is  Peter 
warned.  He  is  strengthened  in  the  supplication  of 
his  Master.  And  through  all  the  fierce  ordeal,  the 
Redeemer  does  not  forget  the  sincerity  and  hopeful- 
ness existing  beneath  all  Peter's  faithlessness.  It 
is  "wheat"  that  is  being  sifted,  whilst  the  whirlwind 
raised  by  the  devil  carries  away  only  the  chaff. 

Here  is  a  mighty  comfort  for  me  I  In  all  this 
trying,  tempting  life  my  Master  watches  over  me 
with  eyes  of  flame,  with  tender  solicitude,  with 
sovereign  power,  over-ruling  my  darkest  moments 
to  ends  of  purification  and  perfecting. 


293 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  20 

Scripture  Reading— Prov.  iv.  10-27 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Enter  not  into  the  path  of  the  wicked,  and  go  not  in  the  way 
of  evil  men." — Prov.  iv.  14 

LEONARDO  thus  instructs  his  brethren:  "The 
painter  requires  severance  from  companions 
who  are  not  in  sympathy  with  his  studies.  His 
companions  should  resemble  him  in  a  taste  for  these 
studies ;  and  if  he  fail  to  find  any  such  he  should 
accustom  himself  to  be  alone  in  his  investigations, 
for  in  the  end  he  will  find  more  profitable  companion- 
ship." 

But  if  the  artist  is  to  sever  himself  from  companions 
not  in  sympathy  with  his  studies,  how  much  rather 
the  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ  from  those  who  are 
without  faith  and  character. 

I  cannot  be  too  particular  about  my  associates. 
Let  me  not  frequent  places  and  permit  acquaintance- 
ships of  an  equivocal  character  for  the  sake  of  interest, 
pleasure,  or  instruction.  The  science  of  our  day 
teaches  us  to  isolate  ourselves  with  extremest  care 
lest  we  suffer  physical  infection ;  how  much  more 
should  we  avoid  places,  people  and  pursuits  which 
carry  in  them  the  germs  of  moral  disease,  of  spiritual 
death ! 


294 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  21 

Scripture  Reading— i  Cor.  x,  1-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." — 
I  Cor.  X.  12 

IN  one  place  the  Scriptures  liken  the  life  of  man 
to  the  life  of  a  tree ;  now  a  tree  may  suffer 
by  a  lightning  flash  marring  it  in  a  moment,  or  by 
a  parasite  slowly  and  insidiously  strangling  it. 

No  sudden  temptation  can  destroy  us  whilst  we 
live  at  our  spiritual  best.  It  is  said  that  lightning 
generally  strikes  the  rotten  tree.  Let  this  be  as 
it  may,  it  is  certain  when  fir  tree  or  cedar  of  the 
King's  garden  falls  some  secret  rottenness  has  eaten 
out  the  heart  of  it. 

No  parasite,  no  creeping  evil  fastens  upon  those 
who  abide  in  strength.  Stealthy  murderers  wait  all 
around,  and  watch  their  opportunity  to  seize  upon 
us,  but  in  the  glowing,  growing  life  they  find  no 
lodgment,  no  minute  vantage  ground  to  which  they 
may  cling.  With  watchfulness,  humility,  and  de- 
pendence we  are  safe  wherever  it  may  please  God 
to  bring  us.  Have  I,  however,  fallen  into  condem- 
nation? Peter's  Lord  is  mine,  and  He  will  heal 
all  my  backslidings,  and  love  me  freely.  Let  me 
put  His  promise  to  the  proof. 


295 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  22 

Scripture  Reading— Matt,  xxvii.  15-26 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men :  a  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief." — Isa.  liii.  3 

THE  one  grand  point  for  me  to  note  here  is 
the  proved  sinlessness  of  Christ.  He  had 
many  bitter  enemies,  but  judged  in  the  fiercest  Hght 
the  verdict  of  acquittal  was  unanimous. 

Scientists  will  pass  a  ray  of  light  through  a  diamond, 
and  then  examine  it  in  a  spectroscope,  discerning 
impurities  in  the  gem  not  otherwise  visible.  Some- 
times the  jewel  is  tested  by  polarised  light,  revealing 
strains  and  flaws ;  and  by  other  subtle  ordeals  black 
specks  are  frequently  detected  even  in  the  best 
stones. 

My  Lord  and  Master  was  tried  in  the  Hebrew 
Court  and  in  the  Roman  Praitorium ;  by  Caiaphas, 
Pilate  and  Herod ;  but  no  fault  was  found  in  Him. 
He  was  declared  one  great  white  pearl.  The  fault- 
lessness  of  Jesus  is  a  precious  truth  to  cherish  and 
realise.  In  Him  I  see  the  actual  embodiment  of  the 
highest  ideal  of  humanity;  in  Him  I  find  the  power 
to  make  me  sharer  of  His  glorious  perfection. 


296 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  23 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xxiii.  1-12 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"I  find  no  fault  in  this  man." — Luke  xxiii,  4 

THE  moral  cowardice  of  Pilate  teaches  a  lesson 
that  every  generation  needs  afresh  to  lay  to 
heart.  By  a  variety  of  subterfuges  he  attempted  to 
escape  a  dilemma,  instead  of  at  once  doing  the 
right  which  he  so  clearly  saw.  One  clear,  bold, 
decisive  act  would  have  saved  his  soul,  but  he  had 
not  integrity  enough  to  make  it. 

Men  who  shirk  responsibility,  washing  their  hands, 
will  before  long  wring  them.  Pilate  did  not  escape 
retribution ;  his  history  henceforth  becomes  tragic ; 
his  name  is  everlastingly  infamous. 

There  are  times  when  we  must  not  wash  our 
hands,  but  cut  them  off.  At  the  call  of  duty  we 
must  deprive  ourselves  of  the  ability  to  count  the 
gold  of  worldly  success,  to  handle  sceptres  of  power, 
to  wave  palms  of  social  pleasure  and  popularity. 
Our  two  stumps  will  qualify  us  for  purer  riches, 
kinglier  sceptres,  palms  of  an  infinitely  higher  renown. 
Let  me  ever  be  loyal  to  Christ,  faithful  to  conscience, 
obedient  to  duty,  whatever  it  may  threaten. 


297 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  24 

Scripture  Reading— i  Cor.  xv,  12-26 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead." — i  Cor.  xv.  21 

TO  propose  difficulties  about  the  resurrection  is 
easy  indeed.  Wliat  a  lot  of  difficulties  we 
could  have  framed  about  this  world  before  we  came 
into  it !  Yet  we  find  a  thousand  things  are  practicable 
and  actual  which  in  anticipation  would  have  seemed 
incredible.  The  resurrection  of  our  Lord  settles  the 
fact  of  ours,  and  for  the  explanation  we  can  con- 
fidently wait. 

Certain  scientists  are  diligently  seeking  for  facts 
to  authenticate  the  belief  that  the  dead  reappear,  so 
finding  a  scientific  basis  for  the  doctrine  of  immor- 
tality. But  we  who  believe  in  Jesus  are  not  deeply 
interested  in  these  researches.  One  /las  come  back 
from  the  grave,  and  shown  Himself  alive  by  many 
infallible  signs.  Upon  the  Living  One,  who  conquered 
death  and  the  grave,  we  build,  nor  shall  we  suffer 
shame. 

"  Ye  are  yet  in  your  sins."  Our  consciousness  of 
forgiveness  in  Christ  is  a  prime  proof  of  His 
resurrection  and  a  trustworthy  pledge  of  our  own. 
Let  me  look  chiefly  in  the  moral,  spiritual,  ex- 
perimental direction  for  the  most  convincing  proofs 
of  Christ's  resurrection  power. 


298 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  25 

SCRIPTURK  Reading— Rev.  i.  9-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

— Matt,  xxviii.  20 

TWO  men  in  dazzling  apparel  appeared  in  the 
sepulchre — an  angel  at  the  head,  an  angel 
at  the  feet.  Francesco  Francia,  the  old  painter, 
represented  one  of  these  as  sad,  the  angel  of  the  past ; 
the  other  as  radiant,  the  angel  of  the  future,  only 
hoping  for  the  time  to  come. 

Standing  by  the  Lord's  sepulchre,  and  looking 
backward,  there  is  sufficient  cause  for  sadness.  We 
see  the  abyss  of  wickedness  in  the  human  heart  when 
we  remember  that  human  hands  crucified  the  Lord 
of  life  and  glory.  We  see  the  measureless  depth  to 
which  the  Son  of  God  descended  when  He  bore  our 
sins  upon  His  own  body  on  the  tree.  "  Did  ere  such 
love  and  sorrow  meet !  " 

Standing  by  our  Lord's  sepulchre,  and  looking 
forward,  there  is  abundant  cause  for  rejoicing.  What 
visions  of  delight  open  up  there !  The  churchyard 
is  full  of  palms ;  grave-stones  become  transparent, 
windows  with  peeps  into  heaven  ;  the  grave's  mouth 
is  a  focus  of  glory.  The  risen  and  ascended  Lord  is 
the  solution  of  the  blackest  enigma — the  promise  and 
pledge  of  glory  beyond  glory.  Let  me  muse  here 
until  I,  too,  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable. 


299 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  26 

Scripture  Reading— i  Kings  xii.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Where  envying  and  strife  is,  tfiere  is  confusion  and  every  evil 
worli," — ^Jas.  iii.  16 

"  /''^HECK  a  moment  of  anger,"  say  the  Chinese, 
V^_^  "and  spare  thyself  a  hundred  days  of 
sorrow."  Yes,  and  much  more,  perhaps,  than  a 
hundred  days  ;  an  outburst  of  petulance  and  passion 
may  spoil  years,  even  mar  a  whole  life. 

In  the  shallow  sea,  in  times  of  stress,  the  gardens  of 
coral  suffer  the  greatest  havoc ;  whilst  in  deep  waters 
rough  weather  is  imperceptible  at  a  depth  of  two 
fathoms,  and  however  violent  the  surface  commotion, 
the  extreme  limit  of  wave  action  is  ten  fathoms.  How 
easily  some  people  are  "  put  out,"  exasperated,  fretted, 
surprised  into  furious  temper  and  speech  I  Shallow 
souls.  How  self-possessed  are  others  subjected  to 
provocation  I     Deep-souled  and  strong. 

A  true  soul  is  a  sleeping  sea,  large  and  profound, 
that  no  vagrant  breeze  may  disturb.  My  great 
Master,  give  me  this  security  against  sudden  wrath, 
a  great  soul,  a  soul  stayed  on  Thee,  a  soul  tranquillised 
by  eternity. 


300 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  27 

Scripture  Reading — Zech.  vii.  8-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Let  none  of  you  imagine  euH  against  his  brother  in  your  heart." 

— Zech.  vii.  10 

THE  house  of  the  proud  is  the  congregation  of 
those  whose  high  thoughts  set  at  defiance  the 
law  of  righteousness,  the  dictates  of  humanity,  the 
claims  of  brotherHness.  In  our  day  there  is  an 
intellectual  haughtiness,  a  vanity  and  loftiness  of 
heart  which  scoffs  at  the  generous  and  compassionate 
spirit  enjoined  by  revelation,  and  audaciously  glorifies 
blood  and  iron. 

"  They  made  their  heart  as  an  adamant  stone." 
As  a  diamond  ;  that  is,  as  a  substance  which  could 
not  be  graven,  which  could  not  receive  the  characters 
of  God.  It  is  possible  to  destroy  that  sensitiveness 
of  soul  which  is  the  very  grandest  attribute  of  our 
humanity  ;  to  harden  the  heart  until  it  is  insensible  to 
God,  until  it  is  no  longer  capable  of  sympathy,  pity, 
or  sacrifice  towards  men  ! 

Lord,  give  me  a  heart  that  is  truly  a  heart  of  flesh, 
tremblingly  alive  to  Thee,  yearning  towards  my 
neighbour. 


301 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  28 

Scripture  Reading — Prov.  xv.  1-19 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"A  soft  answer  turneth  away  a/raf/j."— Prov.  xv.  i 

"  A  SOFT  answer  turns  away  wrath ;  but  a  trying 
£\_  word  arouses  anger."  A  scholar  thus  trans- 
lates the  Hebrew,  Now,  many  words  that  are  not 
wrathful,  not  malicious,  not  exactly  offensive,  are 
nevertheless  trying.  They  are  pin-pricks  that  are 
difficult  to  define,  but  often  hard  to  bear.  Such  a 
tongue  resembles  one  of  those  trees  known  as  monkey- 
puzzles,  which  lacerate  whoever  may  incautiously 
come  in  contact  with  them. 

"  A  wholesome  tongue  is  a  tree  of  life."  Another 
growth  this !  We  recently  read  of  a  tree  on  which 
dozens  of  different  fruits  had  been  grafted ;  so  a 
restrained,  healing,  sanctified  tongue  is  a  tree  of 
paradise  on  which  blooms  every  heavenly  grace.  Men 
are  ambitious  to  possess  an  eloquent  tongue  ;  but  a 
wholesome  tongue  is  far  more  than  a  golden  mouth. 

What  a  great  work  lies  in  this  direction,  the 
hallowing  of  my  lips,  the  sanctification  of  my  words  : 
That  every  utterance  may  be  true,  enlightening, 
kindly,  inspiring!  Holy  Spirit,  pity,  restrain, 
illuminate,  soften ! 


302 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  29 

SCRIFTDRE  Reading — Prov.  xiii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Hethatwalheth  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise  :  but  a  companion 
of  fools  shall  be  destroyed. " — Prov.  xiii.  20 

WE  recently  read  of  one  of  Australia's  sweetest 
birds  of  song  being  located  near  a  saw-mill, 
where  it  picked  up  the  sound  of  the  filing  of  saws, 
and  intermingled  its  splendid  music  with  the  most 
distressing  discords.  On  the  contrary,  an  English 
naturalist  declares  that  he  has  known  sparrows 
imitate  the  song  of  the  nightingale. 

**  He  that  walketh  with  wise  men  shall  be  wise : 
but  a  companion  of  fools  shall  be  destroyed."  We 
are  often  sufficiently  presumptuous  to  fancy  that  we 
can  permit  evil  associations  without  suffering  harm. 
It  is  a  serious  mistake.  Meaner  men  reflect  the 
golden  colour  of  noble  associations  ;  whilst  the  best 
of  men  cannot  choose  inferior  companionships  with 
impunity. 

Let  me  not  forget  that  the  friendship  of  the  good 
and  wise  are  amongst  the  most  precious  means  of 
grace.  The  Orientals  say,  "  Grapes  become  purple 
by  looking  at  one  another,"  and  in  close  fellowship 
pious  peo^jle  ripen  one  another.  Let  my  desire  be 
to  the  saints,  and  all  my  delight  in  the  excellent  of 
the  earth. 


303 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  30 

CRiPTURE  Reading — Prov.  xvi.  16-33 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  that  handleth  a  matter  wisely  shall  find  gfoot/."— Prov. 
xvi.  20 

ALL  nations  are  rich  in  proverbs  setting  forth  the 
beauty  and  desirableness  of  humility,  wisdom, 
sweetness  of  speech,  gentleness  of  spirit  and  deport- 
ment ;  but  the  difficulty  has  ever  been  to  get  such 
fair  plants  to  take  root  and  grow. 

An  authority  on  gardening  writes :  "  Many 
novelties  that  flower  so  amazingly  in  the  catalogues 
make  but  a  poor  show  in  the  garden."  Men  every- 
where admire,  enjoin,  extol  the  lovely  virtues  we  have 
just  named;  they  are  charming  in  the  catalogues, 
but,  alas  !  somehow  they  make  but  a  poor  show  when 
we  attempt  to  reproduce  them  in  our  personal  life. 
And  here  the  fault  is  altogether  that  of  the  gardener. 

The  fact  is  that  the  Book  of  the  Proverbs  is  of 
slight  actual  service  unless  it  is  rooted  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  burning  sun  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  must  paint  these  flowers  ;  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  as  a  river  of  life  must  water  this 
paradise ;  nothing  less  than  the  Apocalypse  can  ripen 
these  celestial  fruits ;  only  when  Christ  Himself  is 
the  gardener  can  this  ethical  Eden  bloom. 


304 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


October  31 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Chron.  xW. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We  have  sought  Him,  and  He  hath  given  us  rest  on  every  side. " 
^-2  Chron.  xiv.  7 

IT  is  delightfully  surprising  to  see  what  a  great 
and  good  work  one  pure  king  could  effect.  Asa 
arose  in  the  midst  of  manifold  corruptions,  like  a 
white  flower  in  a  bog,  and  by  his  godly  character 
and  resolute  action  changed  the  whole  aspect  and 
atmosphere.  We  have  a  parallel  to  this  in  the 
modern  world  when  the  girl-queen  Victoria  trans- 
formed the  Court  of  the  Georges. 

But  the  purifying  power  of  one  personality  is  not 
confined  to  palaces.  One  genuine  saint  in  a  ship's 
crew  will  effect  a  reformation  throughout  the  vessel. 
So  in  a  company  of  soldiers,  in  a  workshop,  in  the 
cricket-field,  in  an  office  or  warehouse,  even  in  a 
council  chamber. 

None  can  tell  the  power  of  good  that  resides  in 
one  sincere  and  devoted  soul.  There  is  a  contagion 
of  health  as  well  as  of  disease,  there  is  an  energy 
of  light  as  well  as  a  power  of  darkness.  "  The 
Ethiopians  fled."  The  black  army  always  does  fly 
before  the  soldiers  of  God.  One  shall  chase  a 
thousand,  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight. 


305 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  1 

Scripture  Reading —  Isa.  Ixi. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  Lord  God  will  cause  righteousness  and  praise  to  spring 
forth  before  all  the  nations." — Isa.  Ixi.  ii 

IN  the  favour  of  God  we  find  the  realm  of  content- 
ment and  happiness.  We  are  told  nowadays 
that  harvest-fields  will  not  long  be  required,  for 
scientists  will  manufacture  chemical  compounds  to 
satisfy  the  hunger  of  the  nations.  "  That  which  is 
not  bread."  The  world  for  ages  has  been  creating  an 
artificial  diet  for  souls,  which  "satisfied  not."  The 
knowledge,  love,  and  joy  of  God  alone  rejoice  the 
soul ;  these  are  the  things  by  which  we  live. 

In  the  smile  of  God  is  lasting  happiness.  The 
great  Linnaeus  prepared  a  clock  in  which  the  hours 
were  marked  by  the  opening  and  closing  of  flowers. 
It  began  at  three  in  the  morning  when  the  goat's 
beard  opens,  and  stopped  at  midnight  when  the  large- 
flowered  cactus  closes  its  petals.  The  true  Christian 
life  is  timed  by  a  floral  clock  in  which  no  hours  are 
missing.  Winter's  night  and  summer's  day,  youth 
and  years,  life  and  death,  shall  find  us  satisfied. 


306 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  2 

SCRIPTDRE  Reading — 2  Chron.  xxxiv.  14-33 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  law  ia  holy,  and  the  commandment  holy,  and  just,  and 
good." — Rom.  vii.  12 

AN  eloquent  writer  observes,  "  There  are  no  rules 
in  art  which  some  great  artist  has  not  shown 
us  how  to  break  with  advantage."  This  may  be  so, 
but  in  that  case  it  shows  that  the  rules  of  art  in 
question  did  not  exactly  or  fully  express  the  ideal. 

No  one  has  ever  shown  us  how  to  break  the  laws 
of  the  decalogue  with  advantage.  Many  great  men 
have  thought  that  they  could  tamper  with  the  moral 
law  with  advantage,  but  not  one  of  them  has  been 
great  enough  to  succeed. 

Indeed,  the  greater  men  are  the  more  clearly  do 
they  show  the  advantage  of  exalting  obedience,  the 
disaster  of  passion  and  self-will.  These  kings  of 
Israel,  good  or  bad,  exhibit  in  a  dramatic  way  and  as 
by  limelight  the  advantage  or  disadvantage.  What 
they  brought  out  on  large  and  imperial  lines  is  just 
as  true  in  relation  to  the  humblest  individual  and  the 
private  life. 


307 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  3 

Scripture  Reading — Jer.  xxxvi.  1-24 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Receive  with  meekness  the  engrafted  word,  which  is  able  to 
save  your  souls." — Jas.  i.  21 

IT  makes  all  the  difference  in  our  estimate  of  the 
Bible  as  to  the  temper  in  which  we  approach  it. 
We  may  readily  treat  it  in  a  way  that  makes  it  of 
none  effect.  The  bluebells  of  England  have  a  name 
in  Gaelic  which  signifies  "  the  aversion  of  swine," 
because  swine  are  said  to  have  a  peculiar  aversion  to 
the  delicate  delights.  Men  of  animal  preference  or 
secular  temper  are  not  likely  to  appreciate  the 
spiritual  beauty  and  import  of  revelation. 

Pride  of  intellect  and  heart  may  make  it  impossible 
to  gain  the  blessing  which  awaits  the  sympathetic 
reader. 

Dr.  Dale  writes  truly:  "Incessant  talking,  even 
about  religious  truth,  will  do  nothing  for  you,  nor  hot 
zeal  for  truth.  The  rejection  of  error,  passionate 
hostility  against  error,  is  not  enough.  The  word,  the 
Divine  word,  must  be  so  received  as  to  take  root  in 
life." 


308 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  4 

Scripture  Reading — Jer.  xvii.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"I  the  Lord  search  the  heart,  I  try  the  reins." — ^Jer.  xvii.  lO 

IN  a  work  just  published  a  traveller  tells  of  his 
descent  into  a  goldmine  in  the  heart  of  a  tropical 
forest.  "  The  candles  shed  a  flickering  light  on  the 
slimy,  dripping  walls,  and  for  a  few  moments  one  felt 
completely  confused — so  hard  was  it  to  stand  there 
shivering  and  yet  realise  that  a  few  yards  overhead 
was  brilliant  tropical  light  and  sunshine,  gaudy  birds 
and  butterflies.  One  seemed  in  a  wholly  different 
world." 

Such  is  the  contrast  between  the  higher  life  with 
God,  and  the  lower  life  of  sensuality  and  earthliness. 
Above  are  the  palms  whose  leaf  is  ever  green,  trees 
of  paradise  of  gracious  fruition,  flowers  of  grace,  doves 
of  peace,  the  sweet  sunshine  of  God.  Below  may  be 
streaks  of  gold,  and  the  coarse  things  that  gold  will 
buy,  but  darkness,  mud,  and  fear  are  on  every  side. 
Bring  me,  O  Lord,  out  of  the  horrible  pit  and  the 
miry  clay  into  the  delectable  land ! 


3C9 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  6 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  viii.  15-28 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  They  that  are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God."— Rom.  viii.  8 

IT  is  the  precious  characteristic  of  revelation  that 
it  furnishes  us  with  the  key  to  the  events  of 
history.  The  profane  historian  simply  records  names, 
and  paints  the  scenes  and  movements  of  empire  ; 
whilst  the  sacred  historian  goes  to  the  spiritual  roots 
of  circumstance  whether  personal  or  national. 

"  The  mind  of  the  spirit."  "  The  mind  of  the  flesh." 
Here  are  the  origins  of  history — individual,  national, 
racial.  The  fortunes  of  men,  singly  or  collectively, 
are  determined  by  the  soul.  When  "  the  mind  of  the 
spirit "  is  obeyed,  life  reigns  through  righteousness — 
the  natural  fruits  are  unity,  peace,  security,  progress. 
When  "the  mind  of  the  flesh"  is  indulged  and 
developed,  the  inevitable  result  is  discord,  disintegra- 
tion, ruin.  How  fully  this  is  illustrated  in  the  history 
of  Judah  and  Israel ! 

"Out  of  the  heart  are  the  issues  of  life."  All 
politics  and  policy  that  leave  out  the  "  mind  "  are  on 
the  surface.  "Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God, 
and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me." 


310 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  6 

ScRiPTURB  Reading— Jef.  xxxvii.  6-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of 

life." — Rev.  ii.  10 

WE,  too,  in  our  place  and  way  and  measure,  may 
be  called  upon  to  suffer  in  reputation,  sub- 
stance, or  ev'en  in  health  and  life,  for  the  sake  of  our 
absolute  fidelity  to  our  Master  and  His  cause. 

Erasmus  confessed  that  he  was  not  constituted  of 
the  stuff  of  which  martyrs  are  made,  and  many  of  us 
feel  a  similar  misgiving  concerning  ourselves.  But  if 
we  resolve  to  be  on  the  Lord's  side  He  will  wonder- 
fully strengthen  and  deliver.  The  golden-crested 
wren  is  one  of  the  tiniest  of  birds  ;  it  is  said  to  weigh 
only  the  fifth  part  of  an  ounce,  and  yet,  on  frailest 
pinions,  it  braves  hurricanes  and  crosses  northern 
seas. 

It  often  seems  in  nature  as  if  Omnipotence  worked 
best  through  frailest  organisms ;  certainly  the  omni- 
potence of  grace  is  seen  to  the  greatest  advantage  in 
the  trembling  but  resolute  saint. 

Give  me  the  spirit  of  those  who  are  faithful  unto 
death ! 


311 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  7 

Scripture  Reading — Mic.  vi.  6-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation  :  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any 
people." — Prov.  xiv.  34 

WHEN  men  will  not  reverence  Sinai,  the  devil 
takes  them  up  an  exceeding  high  mountain 
and  gives  them  his  decalogue,  which  they  diligently 
observe.     What  is  the  result  ? 

"  The  treasures  of  wickedness."  They  get  these. 
The  devil  has  much  to  bestow.  He  makes  his  faith- 
ful servants  eminent  in  infamy,  splendid  in  false 
colours,  rich  in  misery,  of  the  bread  of  adversity  and 
the  water  of  affliction  they  have  enough  and  to  spare, 
an  inexhaustible  wardrobe  embroidered  with  the 
broad  arrow  is  theirs,  and  spacious  palaces  usually 
known  as  workhouses  and  jails. 

He  begrudges  them  nothing  of  emptiness,  bitter 
luxury,  gold  and  glory  that  turn  to  dust  and  ashes. 
God  Almighty  has  His  irony.  "The  Lord  plentifully 
rewardeth  the  proud  doer."  "Ye  have  heaped 
treasure  together  for  the  last  days."  And  even  when 
they  get  the  treasures  of  God  in  nature  and  society 
they  have  not  power  to  eat  thereof. 

Let  me  "do  justly,  love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly 
with  God,"  and  the  true  riches  are  mine. 


312 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  8 

Scripture  Reading — Dan,  L 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  will  be  with  him  in  trouble;  I  will  deliver  him,  and  honoui 
him." — Ps.  xci.  15 

IT  is  well  from  time  to  time  to  reassure  ourselves 
that  patient  merit  has  a  very  real  chance  in  a 
world  of  accidents.  It  might  easily  seem  to  the 
Israelites  in  Babylon  that  little  hope  was  left  them  of 
amelioration  and  advancement,  but  such  opportunity 
occurred  after  all,  and  it  came  from  a  quarter  least 
expected. 

Intellectual  merit  is  rarely  finally  overlooked. 
Charles  Reade  writes  of  a  gifted  man  in  lowly  life 
that  "he  was  like  a  piece  of  striped  jasper  amid 
common  paving-stones."  One  with  rare  capacity 
of  any  kind  is  not  likely  to  be  overlooked,  his  day  will 
come.  Society  will  not  ultimately  use  as  a  paving- 
stone  the  striped  jasper.  As  the  Persian  proverb 
states  it,  "  A  stone  fit  for  the  wall  will  not  be  left  with 
the  rubbish  in  the  way." 

What,  then,  about  moral  and  religious  merit. 
What  about  men  with  the  genius  of  character  ?  They 
are  found  out  and  distinguished  even  by  worldlings, 
as  these  Hebrews  were  discovered  by  the  Babylonian 
king.     Be  good,  and  trust  and  wait. 


313 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  9 

Scripture  Reading— Jas.  v.  10-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Is  any  among  you  afflicted?  let  him  pray."— ] as.  v.  13 

AS  Delitzsch  states  it :  "  The  law  contains  no  com- 
mand to  pray.  Praying  is  so  natural  to  man 
as  man  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  any  precept 
to  enforce  this,  the  fundamental  expression  of  the  true 
relation  to  God."  But  if  the  law  does  not  enjoin 
prayer,  how  constantly  does  it  urge  it  ?  "  Ask  and  it 
shall  be  given."  How  vague !  Ask  what  ?  Blessed 
vagueness — ask  in  everything,  for  everj'thing. 

God  is  little  concerned  about  our  forms,  everything 
about  our  sincerity.  We  pray  with  a  liturgy  or  with- 
out one.  If  our  child  writes  an  affectionate  letter, 
what  do  we  care  about  the  quality  of  the  paper,  the 
pattern  of  the  envelope,  or  the  postman  who  delivers 
it?  The  letter,  with  its  heart-beats,  is  the  main 
thing  ;  nay,  the  only  thing. 

Let  me  not  wait  until  I  can  master  the  science  of 
prayer.  "  It  availeth  much  in  its  working  "  ;  that  we 
know,  and  may  leave  the  philosophy.  Who  is  it  that 
says,  "  Our  prayers  know  their  way  better  than  we 
do"? 


314 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  10 

Scripture  Reading — i  Kings  xix.  1-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  Him."— Vs.  xxxvii.  7 

WHEN  Elijah  appeared  in  Israel  the  times  were 
dark  and  threatening  indeed.  The  land  was 
wholly  given  to  idolatry,  the  royalty  of  the  nation  was 
corrupt,  priest  and  people  were  alike  backsliding. 

Yet  even  at  such  times  we  must  not  despair.  In 
dark  days  God  has  wonderful  ways  of  overthrow- 
ing evil  even  in  its  utmost  pride,  popularity,  and 
power. 

In  mysterious  ways  in  nature  God  puts  limits  to 
destructive  forms.  Spruce  records  that  great  mortality 
ever  and  anon  breaks  out  among  the  alligators,  a  sort 
of  murrain,  and  their  dead  bodies  go  floating  down 
the  Amazon  by  thousands.  So  Heaven  marks  out 
for  judgment  corrupt  persons,  communities,  and 
nations  when  they  become  utterly  degenerate. 

Trust  in  the  Lord,  do  good,  work  for  good,  wait 
patiently  for  the  Lord  and  the  glory  of  His  coming. 
He  will  vindicate  Himself,  He  will  preserve  His  cause. 
He  will  save  His  people  who  trust  in  Him. 


31s 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  11 

Scripture  Reading — Num.  xi.  10-17 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Hope  thou  in  God,  for  I  shall  yet  praise  Him,  who  is  the  health 
of  my  countenance." — Ps.  xlii.  11 

THE  burden  of  life  sometimes  seems  too  much  for 
us.  Hours  of  depression  overtake  the  strongest 
natures,  as  is  shown  in  Moses  and  Elijah  ;  and  if  these 
giants  faint,  the  rank  and  file  may  easily  collapse. 

These  mighty  souls  had  borne  the  responsibility  for 
many,  the  multitude  leaned  upon  them,  and  in  their 
hour  of  agony  they  could  expect  no  support  from 
their  fellow  men.  Shut  up,  they  besought  God,  and 
one  day  we  shall  all  realise  the  sense  of  solitariness 
and  helplessness,  and  have  to  go  to  Him,  or  sink. 

How  wonderful  is  the  sympathy  of  God  with  His 
over-burdened  children  !  He  knoweth  that  we  are 
but  dust.  "  Cast  thy  burden  upon  the  Lord."  As  the 
margin  suggests,  the  "  burden  from  the  Lord  " ;  leave 
it  with  the  Lord.  He  gives  us  no  responsibility  that 
shall  crush  us.  With  every  task,  trouble,  bewilder- 
ment, He  will  make  a  way  of  escape. 


316 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  12 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xxxiil. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Our  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord.    He  is  our  help  and  our  shield." 

— Ps.  xxxiii.  20 

WHATEVER  may  be  the  pride  and  pre- 
sumption of  a  sinful  nation,  "  the  counsel 
of  the  Lord"  will  prevail.  The  nation  may  appear 
strong  and  safe,  but  the  very  depth  of  the  calm,  the 
serenity  of  its  false  confidence,  betoken  disaster. 

Guppy  writes  concerning  certain  aspects  of  the 
Southern  world :  "  Overhead  the  cloudless,  star-lit 
sky  conveys  its  warning ;  for  the  stars  shine  with 
increased  brilliancy,  those  of  less  magnitude,  usually 
invisible  to  the  naked  eye,  are  now  distinctly  seen ; 
and  if  the  navigator  who  has  often  tried  to  count  the 
six  stars  in  the  Pleiades  can  do  so  now  let  him  look 
out  for  the  black  squall.  Then  sweeps  along  the 
lowering  arched  mass  with  its  rain  and  its  waterspouts, 
its  wind,  thunder  and  lightning." 

So  guilty  nations  and  souls  perish  with  surprise. 
Am  I  nursing  a  vain  confidence  ? 


317 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  13 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  cxv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"They  that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want  any  good  thing."— 
Ps.  xxxiv.  lo 

ELIJAH  predicted  terrible  famine,  and  it  came, 
but  the  righteous  iew,  we  may  be  certain, 
knew  no  want.  Somehow,  when  the  earth  ceases  to 
grow  corn,  the  heavens  rain  manna. 

"  Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  good ;  so  shalt  thou 
dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed."  The 
Heavenly  Father  has  undiscovered  ways  of  multiply- 
ing bread,  even  as  modern  science  is  coming  to  per- 
ceive. As  to  our  perishing  with  cold,  somebody  has 
predicted,  "  As  to  burning  our  coal,  we  will  warm  the 
world  with  grindstones  by  and  by."  Not  at  all 
unlikely.  And  so  with  all  needful  things.  God's 
secret  storehouses  are  stocked,  and  will  never  fail. 

Good  men  have  ground  firm  as  a  rock  for  putting 
absolute  confidence  in  God.  To  worry  about  carnal 
things  is  pure  paganism.  He  who  has  done  such 
grand  things  for  the  soul  will  not  starve  the  body. 
The  one  cause  for  anxiety  is  lest  we  should  fail  to 
seek  God  and  His  righteousness.  If  I  am  faithful 
here,  I  may  well  trust  God  for  the  rest  alike  in  time 
and  in  eternity. 


318 


TH^:  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  14 

?'  .IPTURE  Reading— EccLES.  ii.  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"I  have  hatred,  in  whatsoever  state  I  am,  therewith  to  be  con- 
tent. ' — Phil.  iv.  ii 

THE  universal  desire  for  property,  power  and 
enjoyment  is  implanted  in  our  heart  by  God ; 
the  desire  is  natural,  instinctive,  indestructible.  It  is 
the  sign  of  the  infinity  of  our  being.  Animals  are 
satisfied  with  narrow  limits ;  they  eat,  drink,  sleep, 
and  ask  for  nothing  beyond.  But  in  human  nature 
is  an  ineradicable  boundlessness.  "  Hedges  are  not 
made  for  swans."  And  certainly  they  are  not  made 
for  six-winged  birds  like  human  souls. 

But  we  have  fallen  into  a  false  and  superficial 
notion  of  proprietorship.  We  think  nothing  ours 
except  it  is  held  as  leasehold,  freehold,  or  copyhold. 

The  '.rue  proprietorship  is  of  the  wise  mind,  the 
pure  h.;art,  the  obedient  will,  the  dutiful  life.  Things 
are  ours  not  because  of  documents  in  a  safe,  but 
because  we  possess  the  power  clearly  to  see,  wisely 
to  use,  richly  to  enjoy.  "  All  things  are  yours, 
and  ye  arc  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  Solomon 
made  two  mistakes.  He  did  not  go  in  for  enough; 
and  he  forgot  the  spiritual  law  of  inheritance. 


319 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  15 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading — 2  Kings  ii.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"By  faith  Enoch  was  translated  that  he  should  not  see  death." 
— Heb.  xi.  5 

MUCH  that  IS  mysterious  invests  these  trans- 
lations, but  there  is  no  difficulty  about  them 
to  men  who  look  beneath  the  surface  of  things. 
Nature  is  so  full  of  marvels  and  mysteries,  of  sudden 
transformations  and  startling  glorifications,  that  I 
feel  quite  at  home  in  revelations ;  it  so  exactly  corre- 
sponds with  the  delightful  surprises  with  which  the 
visible  world  has  made  me  familiar. 

And  do  we  not  see  similar  translations  to  those  of 
Elijah  and  Enoch  continually  taking  place  before 
our  eyes  ?  Our  loved  ones  are  by  our  side,  and  then 
without  a  struggle  or  sigh  they  are  with  the  Lord ! 

Swedenborg  says  somewhere  that  in  the  invisible 
are  souls  of  saints  who  do  not  know  of  the  change 
that  has  passed  upon  them  until  their  attention  is 
called  to  the  fact.  We  may  readily  accept  this  as  a 
poetical  statement  of  the  truth  that  death  is  often  so 
natural,  so  easy,  so  swallowed  up  in  victory,  that  it  is 
a  translation  only  as  was  the  passing  of  Enoch. 

For  ''before  his  translation."  Ah!  me,  this  is  the 
great  matter.  Am  I  a  man  of  faith,  of  obedience, 
"  meet  for  the  saints  in  light "  ? 


320 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  16 

Scripture  Reading — John  xiv.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Y/e  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens." — 2  Cor.  v.  i 

"  T/fyE  have  a  house  not  made  with  hands, 
'  '^^  eternal  in  the  heavens."  Our  God  shall 
"take"  us,  as  He  did  Enoch;  bury  us,  as  He  did 
Moses ;  despatch  for  us  a  chariot,  as  He  did  for 
Elijah ;  exalt  us  to  His  right  hand,  as  He  did  the 
Son  of  His  love.  All  these  grand  truths  and  facts 
have  a  direct  personal  significance  which  no  false 
modesty  or  subtle  unbelief  should  overlook.  Let  me 
realise  this. 

The  hope  of  immortality  not  only  vivifies  us  in 
the  hours  when  we  vividly  conceive  and  apprehend 
it,  but  it  secretly  strengthens,  consoles,  and  hallows 
when  we  do  not  distinctly  think  about  it ;  its  latent, 
unobserved  action  upon  character  and  life  is  as  real 
as  it  is  great. 

Belt  tells  how  in  the  forests  of  Nicaragua  the  air  is 
filled  with  sweetness  and  the  ground  carpeted  with 
blossoms,  in  consequence  of  unseen  flowers  growing 
at  the  tops  of  the  exceedingly  lofty  trees.  So  the 
hope  laid  up  in  heaven  makes  itself  felt  throughout 
our  whole  earthly  life. 


321 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  17 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Kings  viii.  1-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"He  that  belieueth  on  Me  hath  everlasting  ///e,"— John  vi.  47 

GOD  has  wonderful  ways  of  restoring  the  years 
that  the  caterpillar  has  eaten.  The  twelve 
years  John  Bunyan  spent  in  Bedford  gaol  appeared 
a  desert  patch,  yet  what  magnificent  compensations 
they  brought ! 

The  blue  water-lily  abounds  in  several  of  the 
canals  at  Alexandria,  which  at  certain  seasons 
become  dry,  and  the  beds  of  these  canals,  which 
quickly  become  burnt  as  hard  as  bricks  by  the  action 
of  the  sun,  are  then  used  as  carriage  roads.  When, 
however,  the  water  is  again  admitted,  the  plant 
resumes  its  growth  with  redoubled  vigour  and 
splendour. 

Human  life  has  its  seasons  of  fallow,  hibernation, 
of  arrested  development,  of  suspended  activity,  of 
caterpillar,  locust,  and  palmerworm ;  but  to  the 
faithful  such  dispiriting  seasons  are  treasuring  up, 
accumulating  riches.  This  whole  earthly  life  is  full 
of  denial,  suppression,  limitation ;  but  it  means 
splendid  future  enhancement. 


322 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  18 

Scripture  Reading— Nah.  i.  i-io 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  The  Lord  is  slow  to  anger,  and  great  in  power." — Nah.  i.  3 

WE  have  to-day  a  school  of  dilettante  moralists 
who,  whilst  generally  approving  of  propriety 
of  conduct,  reprobate  the  introduction  of  heat  into 
our  relation  to  morals.  We  must  look  with  calm 
toleration  on  vice,  and  contemplate  with  serene  com- 
placency whatever  is  good.  Goodness  and  badness 
are  only  like  beauty  and  ugliness  in  art,  and  are  to 
be  criticised  without  feeling. 

The  passage  before  us  knows  nothing  of  this 
lauded  lukevvarmness.  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire 
— a  God  of  rectitude  and  judgment.  Loving  with 
flaming  affection  the  pure,  devouring  the  obstinate 
perverse  "as  stubble  fully  dry." 

"  Ye  that  love  the  Lord,  hate  evil."  Stand  in 
relation  to  righteousness  as  God  does,  loving  it 
with  supreme  delight,  hating  its  opposite  with  inex- 
tinguishable indignation.  Morality  without  passion 
is  etiquette,  not  righteousness.  There  is  little  reality 
in  our  goodness  until  it  stirs  the  soul  to  its  depths. 


323 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  19 

Scripture  Reading— Rom.  ii.  17-29 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for 
the  flesh." — Rom.  xiii.  14 

WE  know  clearly  how  the  great  future  may 
burst  upon  us  at  any  moment,  and  yet  how 
liable  we  are  to  be  seduced  by  indulgences  which 
appeal  to  our  lower  nature. 

In  ascending  the  lofty  peaks  of  the  Alps,  the  guides 
not  infrequently,  it  is  said,  resort  to  the  innocent 
artifice  of  endeavouring  to  interest  the  traveller  in 
the  beauty  of  the  lovely  flowers  which  grow  there, 
to  distract  his  attention  from  the  fearful  abysses 
which  the  giddy  path  overhangs. 

The  design  of  the  devil  on  the  perilous  path  of 
life  is  the  very  reverse  of  this.  He  seeks  to  dazzle 
and  confuse  with  the  yellow  gold,  the  red  wine,  the 
purple  pride,  the  rainbow  hues  of  fashion  and  pleasure, 
that  we  may  be  betrayed  into  the  gulf  yawning  under 
our  feet. 

Let  me  remember  that  I  am  a  child  of  the  light, 
a  son  of  the  morning.  Let  me  look  for  my  Lord 
more  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning. 


324 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  20 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading — i  Kings  xii.  25-33 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols."— i  John  v.  21 

RECENTLY  a  singular  case  was  adjudicated 
upon  by  the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy 
Council.  A  suit  was  brought  by  an  Indian  Rajah, 
as  custodian  of  some  family  idols,  to  recover  posses- 
sion of  a  village  alleged  to  have  been  dedicated  to 
the  service  of  idols.  How  strange  such  a  subject 
seems  to  Englishmen  !  Idols  !  A  village  dedicated 
to  the  service  of  idols !  How  remote,  absurd, 
superstitious  the  whole  thing  seems  in  the  light  of 
European  civilisation ! 

And  yet  dare  we  cast  a  stone?  Have  we  no 
personal  idols,  family  idols,  national  idols?  Not 
merely  a  village  dedicated  to  idols,  but  vast  cities 
offering  costly  sacrifices  to  Bacchus,  to  Moloch,  to 
Mammon,  to  gods  many?  How  many  things  come 
between  us  and  God,  robbing  Him  of  our  love, 
worship,  and  obedience ! 

"  Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols." 
Whatever  is  opposed  to  the  God  revealed  in  Christ, 
and  to  His  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  is  idolatry. 


325 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  21 

Scripture  Reading— John  iii.  1-21 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Look  unto  Me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth;  for 
I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else." — Isa.  xlv.  22 

IT  is  quite  possible  that  a  man  may  be  a  self- 
made  moralist,  and  a  very  respectable  one,  too, 
but  no  education,  reformation,  or  culture  of  our  own 
can  make  sinful  men  good  before  God. 

It  is  said  that  by  chemical  processes  precious 
stones  can  be  manufactured  out  of  the  dust  of 
precious  stones.  The  chemist  takes  the  dust  made 
by  the  jeweller  in  cutting,  grinding,  and  polishing 
rubies,  amethysts,  or  sapphires,  and  fashions  the 
sparkling  filings  once  more  into  complete  jewels ; 
but  the  furnace  has  never  yet  been  able  to  create  a 
diamond  out  of  diamond  dust. 

By  unaided  effort  we  may  fuse  together  certain 
virtues  and  build  up  our  character  into  passable 
beauty  and  worth  ;  but  we  shall  never  be  able  to 
transform  our  character  into  the  loveliness  and  pre- 
ciousness  of  true  holiness.  This  is  God's  work.  We 
must  be  new  creations,  born  from  above,  created  in 
Christ. 


326 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  22 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  viii.  31-39 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?" — Rom.  viii.  31 

HOW  wonderfully  does  the  thought  of  God  and 
of  His  love  nerve  the  Christian  to  face  the 
bitterest  conditions  of  life?  The  primitive  saints, 
tried  by  manifold  tribulations,  were  made  perfect 
through  mighty  suffering. 

Explorers  tell  us  that  in  Arctic  regions  the  snow 
itself  affords  shelter  to  the  vegetation  of  those  in- 
hospitable regions  against  the  piercing  winds  that 
sweep  over  fields  of  everlasting  ice.  Under  the  cold 
defence  of  the  snow  plants  spring  up,  dissolve  the 
snow  a  few  inches  around,  and  the  part  above  being 
again  quickly  frozen  into  a  transparent  sheet  of  ice, 
admits  the  sun's  rays,  which  cherish  the  plant  as  in 
a  natural  hothouse,  until  the  returning  summer  renders 
such  protection  unnecessary. 

So  the  wisdom,  love,  and  power  of  God  overrule 
the  bitterest  conditions  of  human  life,  and  fits  us 
through  those  very  conditions  for  the  everlasting 
summer. 


327 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  23 

Scripture  Reading — Mark  xvi.  9-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  Ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God." — 2  Cor.  vi.  16 

NO  charge  against  Christianity  is  more  foolish 
than  that  which  accuses  it  of  doing  injustice 
to  the  body.  The  Greek  magnified  the  body  in  the 
interest  of  art ;  but  ever  since  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  the  body  has  become  invested  with  a  new 
strange  sacredness.  Just  as  the  corn  of  wheat  must 
die  before  it  is  glorified,  so  we  discover  the  grandeur 
of  the  body  in  the  grave.  As  Alexander  Smith 
writes  :  "  The  meanest  of  us  will  look  grand  one  day  • 
and  however  poor  we  may  be,  the  mourners  will 
uncover  as  they  lay  us  in  the  dust." 

And  this  sense  of  our  dignity  in  death  pervades 
all  classes,  even  the  lowliest.  Lord  Shaftesbury, 
speaking  to  his  son,  and  referring  to  a  pauper  funeral 
he  had  once  witnessed,  where  the  bearers  were  drunk, 
said:  "There  is  nothing,  Evelyn,  which  the  poor  feel 
so  keenly  as  dishonour  to  their  dead."  Whence 
comes  this  sense  of  the  majesty  of  man  in  death, 
not  of  monarchs  only,  but  of  paupers?  The  burial 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  gave  to  the  race  a 
sense  of  the  mystery  and  glory  of  our  personaHty 
such  as  it  never  had  before. 


328 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  24 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Kings  xii.  9-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Lord,  I  have  loved  the  habitation  of  Thine  house,  and  the 
place  Lufiere  Thine  honour  divelleth." — Ps.  xxvi.  8 

THERE  is  a  distinct  tendency  to-day  to  think 
lightly  of  the  Church  of  God.  The  multitude 
keep  holiday  instead  of  holy  day,  and  the  sanctuary 
is  painfully  neglected. 

"  The  Electric  Palace"  threatens  to  take  the  place 
of  the  "  palace  of  God."  Instead  of  the  worship  of 
God,  we  have  organ  recitals.  Sacred  concerts  are 
the  substitute  for  the  penitent  or  adoring  cry  of  the 
congregation.  The  devil's  prayer-book,  in  the  shape 
of  secular  and  sporting  journals,  is  fast  becoming  the 
popular  liturgy.  The  tribes  go  up  to  the  temple  of 
nature — in  other  words,  to  the  railway  station — for 
cheap  excursions.     Golf  supersedes  godliness. 

What  does  all  this  mean  to  this  nation  ?  England 
was  not  made  by  electric  palaces,  music  halls,  golf 
clubs,  and  picnics,  and  it  will  not  be  sustained  by 
them.  If  we  desecrate  God's  day  by  our  games, 
before  long  He  will  make  game  of  us. 

Let  every  Christian  disciple  be  faithful  in  a  day  of 
falling  away.     Let  me  be  faithful. 


329 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  25 

ScRiPTUEE  Reading — Ezra  iii.  8-13 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  temple,  let  all  the  earth  keep  alienee 
before  Him. " — Hab.  ii.  20 

*'  A  ND  they  sang  one  to  another  in  praising  and 
J^\_  giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord."  There  is  a 
rapture  that  is  unique  and  infectious  in  the  solemnities 
of  God's  house,  in  its  triumphal  music  and  song.  It 
affords  an  evidence  of  the  divinity  of  religion  that  is 
most  affecting,  most  convincing. 

The  Japanese  Letters  of  Lafcadio  Hearn  give  a 
striking  illustration  of  this.  Hearn  was  a  sensualist 
of  the  most  pronounced  type,  a  bitter  scoffer  at 
religion,  one  who  wished  that  the  missionaries  might 
be  shipped  off  to  sea  and  the  vessel  scuttled ;  and 
yet  in  a  frank  moment  he  confesses  to  a  friend  that 
it  is  impossible  to  listen  to  a  congregation  singing 
"  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,  nearer  to  Thee,"  without 
deep  emotion.  His  heart  was  wiser  than  his  brains, 
and  bore  its  witness  to  the  eternal  truth. 

We  get  very  near  to  God  in  His  house;  we  emi- 
nently feel  His  presence  and  realise  His  blessing. 
Let  all  keep  silence  before  Him  that  His  voice  may 
be  heard. 


330 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  26 

Scripture  Reading— Ps.  cxxii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"/  ivas  glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  unto  the  house 
of  the  Lord." — Ps.  cxxiL  i 

"T  "X  fHITHER  the  tribes  go  up."  We  always 
Y  Y  ascend  when  we  go  in  the  right  spirit  to 
the  house  of  God.  "  A  high  mountain  is  the  moun- 
tain of  Bashan  " — a  mountain  of  summits.  What 
horizons  it  commands  !  Entering  the  sanctuary,  we 
transcend  fog-banks,  dust  storms,  the  narrow  walls  of 
the  earthly,  and  behold  the  ample  sky,  the  blue  and 
gold  distances. 

What  beauty  we  behold  when  we  look  upon  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord !  Alpine  plants  increase  in 
beauty  and  luxuriance  in  the  higher  altitudes,  and  on 
the  heights  of  Zion  we  are  charmed  with  Divine 
loveliness  and  delights.  Bees  gather  the  sweetest 
honey  ever  tasted  from  the  flowers  growing  on  the 
snow-line.  So  we  on  the  summits  of  the  hill  of  God. 
It  is  a  very  strong  evidence  that  we  are  in  a  state 
of  grace  when  we  have  a  keen  relish  for  the  sanctuary. 
And  we  are  never  then  far  from  glory.  There  is  but 
a  step  from  the  high  hill  of  Sabbatic  worship  to  the 
jasper  pavement. 


331 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  27 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Chron.  xxvi.  11-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  When  he  was  strong,  his  heart  was  lifted  up  to  his  destruc 
tion." — 2  Chron.  xxvi.  16 

ONE  of  the  most  pitiful  sights  is  to  look  upon 
fair  beginnings  ending  disastrously,  as  we  do 
here. 

A  naturalist  writes  of  certain  creatures  which 
degenerate  as  they  grow  older !  "  When  they  first 
quit  the  egg  they  are  all  free ;  they  frisk,  they  swim 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  and  at  the  close  of  life 
we  find  them  deformed,  as  if  a  foul  leprosy  had 
atrophied  all  their  splendid  organs." 

Alas !  how  terrible  are  these  degenerations  in  the 
moral  life. 

However  long  I  continue  in  the  right  path,  let  me 
not  presume.  Stevenson  somewhere  speaks  of  the 
boasting  "  self-made"  man  as  a  veritable  wind-bag; 
because  he  lights  the  gas  in  a  back  parlour  he  thinks 
he  created  the  light.  The  "  self-made  man  is  a  badly 
made  man  ";  and,  indeed,  so  far  as  he  is  made,  is  not 
self-made  at  all.  By  the  grace  of  God  I  stand,  and 
to  the  latest  hour  must  beware  of  temper,  appetite, 
covetousness,  pride.  A  great  general  was  maimed  at 
Waterloo  by  the  last  cannon  ball  fired. 


332 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  28 

Scripture  Reading — Gen.  xxxix.  i-6 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  he  was  a  prosperous  man. " — 
Gen.  xxxix.  2 

HERE  again  we  see  the  power  of  character  in 
the  worldly  sphere.  David  saw  the  "  wicked 
flourish  like  a  green  bay  tree  "  ;  so  do  we  sometimes, 
yet  let  us  be  sure  nevertheless  that  this  belongs  to 
the  chapter  of  accidents  which  is  the  Bible  of  the  fool, 
whilst  the  prosperity  of  Joseph  and  Uzziah  belongs 
to  the  chapter  of  law  which  is  the  Bible  of  the  wise. 

A  Bible  is  in  existence  which  is  printed  through- 
out on  the  self-.ame  paper  as  that  on  which  bank 
notes  are  printed.  A  significant  Bible  that !  Had  it 
been  made  up  of  £$  notes  how  eagerly  it  would  have 
been  sought !  Yet  made  of  the  special  paper  men 
love  so  much  to  feel  is  very  significant  and  appro- 
priate. The  Bible  is  the  book  of  the  Wealth  of 
Nations,  although  that  is  its  least  merit. 

"  And  the  Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  he  was  a 
prosperous  man."  "  Beloved,  I  wish  above  all  things 
that  thou  mayest  prosper  and  be  in  health,  even  as 
thy  soul  prospereth." 


333 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  29 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Tim.  ii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Flee  also  youthful  lusts  :  but  folloLU  righteousness,  faith, 
charity,  peace,  with  them  that  call  on  the  Lord  out  of  a  pure 
heart." — 2  Tim.  ii.  22 

THE  most  skilled  workers  are  said  to  be  most 
fastidious  about  their  tools ;  on  occasion  they 
do  marvellously  with  indifferent  instruments,  yet  of 
all  craftsmen  they  are  the  most  particular  to  covet 
tools  of  exquisite  efficacy. 

Thus  God  chooses  the  fittest  instrument  for  the 
highest  service.  And  what  determines  that  fitness? 
Not  scholarship,  genius,  eloquence,  but  personal 
purity. 

When  a  new  railway  is  inaugurated,  a  nobleman  is 
usually  present  who  turns  the  first  sod  with  a  silver 
spade,  and  wheels  it  off  in  a  fancy  barrow;  but  the 
rough  navvy  with  coarse  tools  is  the  effective  agent 
who  constructs  the  line.  So  the  fittest  instrument  of 
God  may  not  be  the  dainty  scholar,  but  rather  the 
commonplace  worker,  rich  in  faith,  spirituality  and 
holiness. 

Let  me  seek  to  be  a  cleansed  vessel,  fit  for  the 
Master's  use. 


334 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


November  30 

Scripture  Reading— Mic.  iv.  i-8 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We  will  walh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  our  God  for  ever  and 
ever." — Mic.  iv.  5 

UNIVERSAL  and  permanent  peace  is  to  be 
secured  through  the  teaching  and  influence 
of  the  Church  of  God.  Some  believe  that  war  will 
be  eliminated  by  international  literature,  art,  trade, 
science,  but  really  the  spirit  of  mankind  itself  must 
be  changed. 

A  celebrated  naturalist  writes  thus  of  a  murderous 
bird  of  extreme  beauty :  "  The  red  hawk,  in  the  blue 
of  a  spring  day,  is  so  refined  in  material  as  to  seem 
a  spirit ;  but  it  is  the  fell  spirit  of  plunder  and 
bloodshed.  This  is  the  pitiable  side  to  so  much  of 
the  beauty  and  wonderful  design  in  nature — one  of 
the  desperate  riddles  of  the  world." 

So  there  is  a  pitiable  side  to  the  beauty  and  glory 
of  civilisation.  It  is  a  desperate  riddle  how  nations 
with  so  much  wealth,  culture  and  gaiety,  can  yet 
cherish  so  much  of  the  fell  spirit  of  plunder  and 
bloodshed.  No ;  culture  will  not  expel  the  truculent 
temper  of  humanity;  only  the  Spirit  of  Christ  can 
do  this,  making  men  loving  brothers  the  world  over. 


335 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  1 

Scripture  Reading— Isa.  ii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  will  teach  us  of  His  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  His  paths," 
— Isa,  ii.  3 

RENAN  thus  expresses  his  scepticism  about 
millennial  days :  "  Isaiah  is  sufficiently  blind 
to  all  realities,  to  believe  that  justice  can  govern  the 
world,  and  that  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  state  will  soon 
be  realised.  Isaiah  much  resembles  our  Socialists, 
whose  illusions  cannot  be  destroyed.  After  each 
abortive  experiment  they  recommence  their  work ; 
the  solution  is  not  yet  found,  but  it  will  be.  The 
idea  that  no  solution  exists  never  occurs  to  them." 

The  truth  is,  any  kind  of  enthusiast,  dreamer,  or 
socialist,  is  preferable  to  men  who  believe  in  the 
possibility  of  nothing  better  than  what  exists  already. 
The  ever  bettering  world  grows  out  of  illusions,  and 
would  not  grow  without  them.  Dreamers  are  the 
architects  of  the  new  world ;  and  the  builders  of  it, 
the  practical  workers,  appear  in  due  season.  If  we 
had  not  first  the  splendid  dream  we  should  never 
have  the  splendid  fact. 

On  the  foreheads  of  the  righteous  diadems  are 
beginning  to  take  shape  already. 


336 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  2 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  ix.  1-7 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall 
they  lertrn  war  any  more." — Isa.  ii.  4 

"  T])ETITIONS,  prayers,  intercessions,  thanks- 
Jl  givings  shall  be  offered  for  all  men,  with 
special  mention  of  kings,  and,  in  fact,  of  all  who  are  in 
authority,  so  that  we  may  live  an  unharassed  life 
of  inward  peace  in  all  reverence  for  God  and  in 
self-respect." 

Close  by  where  this  is  written,  stands  a  chestnut 
tree  specially  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  east 
wind,  and  year  by  year  its  leaves  have  been  blighted 
and  its  glory  lost.  So  discord  acts  upon  character. 
Keep  the  peace  in  the  house.  No  grudges,  no 
irritations,  no  antagonisms.  Keep  the  peace  in  the 
world.  It  is  still  at  the  centre  of  the  whirlwind  ;  and 
where  the  true  Christian  stands  there  may  be  a 
wonderful  measure  of  peace  in  a  warring  world. 
Keep  the  peace  in  the  Church.  Lifting  heavenward 
unsullied  hands,  pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem. 

It  has  been  affirmed  that  the  Florentines  are  such 
rare  artists  because  they  live  in  such  a  tranquil  air. 
Anyhow,  living  in  a  tranquil  air  makes  rare  saints. 


337 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  3 

Scripture  Reading — Isa.  xxvu 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed 
on  Thee." — Isa.  xxvi.  3 

LET  US  not  dismiss  this  as  mere  poetry,  but 
cherish  it  in  our  heart  as  the  most  trustworthy- 
truth  we  know. 

Had  we  Hved  in  the  geological  ages  we  should 
have  thought  the  earth  as  we  now  know  it  an  utter 
impossibility.  Then  vast  and  awful  monsters  stalked 
the  slime,  the  sea  swarmed  with  ferocious  sharks  and 
snakes,  the  sky  was  darkened  by  winged  dragons, 
and  there  was  not  a  bird,  butterfly,  or  flower.  How 
sceptical  we  should  have  been  if  then  one  had 
prophesied  of  this  modern  earth  with  its  sky  full 
of  singers,  its  meadows  full  of  flowers,  its  silver  sea 
a  delight !     Yet  all  has  come  to  pass. 

And  greater  things  shall  come  to  pass,  for  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it.  A  recent  sceptic 
sneers  at  what  he  calls  "the  green-meadow  happiness 
of  the  herd " ;  but  to  feed  amongst  the  lilies  is 
better,  nobler,  happier  than  to  redden  the  meadows 
with  our  brother's  blood. 


338 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  4 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Tim.  i.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you. " — Rom.  viii.  9 

"  T  F  any  man  hath  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is 
Y  none  of  His."  "And  if  Christ  is  in  you."  In 
the  New  Testament  we  see  the  example  set  us,  and 
we  are  to  walk  as  He  also  walked ;  but  there  is  no 
real  imitation  of  Christ  except  as  His  Spirit  dwells 
in  us  richly. 

Ingres,  the  great  French  painter,  appealed  to  his 
students,  "  Do  you  think,  when  I  tell  you  to  copy, 
that  I  want  to  make  copyists  of  you  ?  No,  I  want 
you  to  take  the  sap  from  the  plant."  Christ  does 
not  want  to  make  technical  copyists  of  us,  but  by 
a  living  union  we  are  to  take  the  sap  from  the  Plant 
of  Renown,  so  that  all  the  living  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness may  naturally  appear  in  us. 

**  If  the  Spirit  of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from 
the  dead  "  dwells  in  us,  all  the  beauty,  strength,  and 
victory  of  the  Master  shall  be  repeated  in  the 
disciple. 


339 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  5 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xiv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"//  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His." 
— Rom.  viii.  9 

ARCHBISHOP  ALEXANDER  states  the  case 
exactly.  "  This  age  Hstens  with  a  certain 
degree  of  patience  when  we  tell  it  that  sin  is  trans- 
gression,  or  that  sin  is  selfishness.  But  when  we 
assert  that  sin  is  unbelief,  we  are  met  with  con- 
temptuous anger." 

Yet  Jesus  boldly  declares  that  unbelief  in  Himself 
is  of  the  very  essence  of  sin.  "If  ye  believe  not 
that  /  am,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins."  "  Of  sin, 
because  they  believe  not  on  Me," 

Let  me  beware  of  "  honest  doubt,"  which  doubts 
Jesus  Christ.  We  have  small  patience  with  people 
who  entertain  doubts  about  the  roundness  of  the 
earth,  or  concerning  the  scientific  teaching  that  the 
earth  revolves  about  the  sun.  No  honest  doubting 
is  allowed  here.  Those  who  reject  Christ  and  His 
claim  must  doubt  their  doubts  in  the  light  of  the 
conscience  and  the  heart. 


340 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  6 

Scripture  Reading — Matt.  xiii.  24-30 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  The  Luages  of  sin  is  death. " — Rom.  vi.  23 

IN  the  Oriental  jungle  is  a  fig-tree  that  begins  life 
as  a  parasite.  A  thin,  slender  shoot,  tremulously 
weak,  leans  lightly  on  the  base  of  some  tall  tree, 
clings  and  grows.  Soon  a  second  shoot,  slight  and 
frail,  emerges  near  the  root,  but  at  a  different  angle 
from  its  aspiring  brother ;  and  others  as  delicate 
follow,  until  the  trunk  of  the  host  is  sprawled  over 
by  naked  running  shoots,  crafty  and  insidious.  The 
trunk  becomes  enveloped  in  living  lace,  all  the  while 
squeezing  and  causing  decay,  sapping  the  life-blood 
of  the  tree  at  all  points.  A  greedy,  intractable, 
implacable  foe,  it  gives  no  quarter,  but  flourishes 
upon  its  dead  or  dying  friend,  upon  which  in  its 
youth  it  leaned  delicately  for  support. 

So  did  idolatry  delicately  insinuate  itself  into  Israel, 
and  in  a  few  years  the  goodly  tree  was  overrun  and 
blasted  by  the  stealthy  murderer.  So  evil  ever 
beguiles,  enslaves,  and  destroys. 


341 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  7 

Scripture  Reading— Neh.  viii.  g-i8 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength."— Neh.  ix.  lo 

HEZEKIAH  did  much  with  music;  Nehemiah 
also   was   anxious    that   the   people   should 
work  with  sunshine  and  song. 

"  Our  preacher  is  a  skylark  Christian,"  boasted  one 
of  his  people.  Fine  bird !  It  sings  morning,  noon, 
and  evening  ;  sings  as  it  springs  from  the  flowery  sod, 
also  when  the  ground  is  white  with  snow.  What  a 
song,  too  !— a  shower  of  melody,  an  infinite  sweetness 
with  no  undertone  of  pain.  So  is  it  ever  with  the 
Christian  who  lives  in  the  power  of  his  faith. 

Some  Christians,  however,  are  of  a  very  different 
feather.  They  recall  the  owl,  or  remind  us  of  the 
pelican  of  the  wilderness;  they  have  not  as  much 
music  as  the  sparrow  on  the  housetop ;  they  chatter 
like  the  crane  or  swallow,  or  mourn  sore  like  the 
dove.  If  we  would  only  realise  the  full  truth  and 
blessedness  of  our  faith,  we  should  continually  go  up 
and  come  down  singing,  until  one  fine  day  we  should 
go  up  singing,  up,  up,  beyond  the  blue,  beyond  the 
sun,  and  come  down  no  more,  lost  in  the  eternal 
light 


342 


I^HE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  8 

Scripture  Reading— 2  Kings  xvii.  19-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  children  of  Israel  walked  in  all  the  sins  of  Jeroboam  which 
he  did." — 2  Kings  xvii.  22 

"  '^  I  ^HEY  kept  not  the  commandments  of  the  Lord 
J[  their  God."  This  was  the  front  of  their 
offending,  they  sinned  against  the  light,  against  the 
brightest  light  that  had  been  vouchsafed  to  mortals, 
and  their  unfaithfulness  to  the  light  exaggerated 
their  doom.  Much  has  been  written  lately  about 
"  The  Repulsive  Power  of  Light."  Astronomers  hold 
that  every  ray  of  light  exerts  pressure  upon  any 
surface  where  it  impinges,  and  that  in  the  case  of 
sunlight  the  direction  of  the  pressure  is,  of  course, 
away  from  the  sun  ;  therefore  very  attenuated  bodies 
fly  away  from  the  sun  instead  of  falling  toward  it. 
The  sun  attracts  a  solid  body,  but  repels  a  vaporised 
one. 

Whilst  men  are  sincere  and  serious  they  are 
attracted  by  the  eternal  Sun  and  blessed  by  its 
light;  and  becoming  false  and  frivolous  the  light 
drives  them  farther  from  its  Fountain,  and  acts  upon 
them  like  a  curse. 


343 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  9 

Scripture  Reading— Rev.  xv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"If  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and 
the  sinner  appear?" — i  Pet.  iv.  i8 

"  T  F  the  righteous  be   scarcely  saved."     We  must 

1^  not  think  it  an  easy  thing  to  attain  fitness  for 
eternal  life. 

Said  Millet,  the  famous  painter,  "  Art  is  not  a 
pleasure  trip.  It  is  a  battle,  a  mill  that  grinds." 
How  much  more  is  this  true  of  the  moral  life. 

Think  of  the  difficulties  often  attending  the 
beginning  of  the  highest  life ;  think  of  the  strong 
opposition  a  righteous  life  must  encounter  and  over- 
come ;  think  of  the  severity  of  the  discipline 
necessary  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints  ;  think  of 
the  sacred  anxieties  in  which  the  best  of  men  work 
out  life,  and  with  which  they  anticipate  its  close. 
Having  thought  of  all  this,  we  shall  understand  what 
is  meant  by  the  righteous  being  "  scarcely  saved." 

Yet  the  impossible  to  man  is  possible  with  God. 
Looking  at  it  from  the  human  side,  we  are  saved  with 
difficulty,  but  from  the  side  of  the  Divine  power  and 
grace  there  is  "  abundant  entrance." 


344 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  10 

Scripture  Reading — Dan.  v. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Euil  will  befall  you  in  the  latter  days,  because  ye  uiill  do  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord." — Deut.  xxxi.  29 

'"TT^HERE  came  forth  the  fingers  of  a  man's 
J^  hand,"  and  wrote  on  the  palace  wall  of 
Belshazzar  fiery  words  ;  but  the  writing  was  late  ;  it 
was  the  sentence  of  immediate  death.  "  In  that  night 
Belshazzar  was  slain."  The  same  fingers  that  wrote 
these  words  of  doom  wrote  the  warning  words  before 
the  eyes  of  all  Israel  ages  before  the  testing  days 
came. 

May  not  England  to-day  with  solemn  advantage 
study  this.  When  a  modern  philosopher  writes 
words  like  these,  words  applauded  by  many  of  our 
countrymen,  is  it  not  time  to  take  alarm  ? — "  Severity 
violence,  slavery,  danger,  dissimulation,  stoicism, 
artifice,  and  devilries  of  every  kind — all  that  is  bad, 
terrible,  tyrannical,  predatory,  and  serpentine  in 
man — serve  as  well  for  the  elevation  of  humanity  as 
their  opposites."  If  this  teaching  is  to  prevail  we 
shall  soon  reach  the  crimson  ending.  To  neglect  the 
hand-writing  in  the  tables  of  stone  is  to  provoke  the 
handwriting  on  the  wall. 


345 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  11 

Scripture  Reading — Rom.  vii. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  that  being  often  reproved  hardeneth  his  necli,  shall 
suddenly  be  destroyed,  and  that  without  remedy. " — Prov.  xxix.  i 

SINFUL  men  are  fond  of  belittling  the  thought 
of  retribution,  but  if  any  doctrine  is  beyond 
question  it  is  that  which  teaches  the  necessity  and 
inevitableness  of  retribution. 

Speaking  one  day  of  different  forms  of  human 
government,  Goethe  remarked :  "  It  will  be  found 
that  one  cannot  succeed  in  the  long  run  with  over 
great  goodness,  mildness,  and  delicacy,  while  one  has 
beneath  a  mixed  and  sometimes  vicious  world  to 
manage  and  hold  in  respect."  If  then  human  phil- 
osophers come  to  this  conclusion,  we  may  well 
believe  in  the  self-executing  moral  order  of  the 
world. 

And  time  is  a  consideration  of  little  moment.  If 
the  broken  law  certainly  avenges  itself  upon  the 
transgressor,  sooner  or  later,  is  a  question  of  no  conse- 
quence. The  lapse  of  time  does  not  change  the 
crime.  The  lapse  of  time  does  not  cause  it  to  be 
forgotten  or  condoned.  No  Statute  of  Limitations 
has  place  in  the  government  of  God. 


346 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  12 

Scripture  Reading — Hos.  xiv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  They  shall  revive  as  the  corn,  and  grow  aa  the  vine. " — Hos. 
xiv.  7 

A  MOST  suggestive  chapter  touching  the  revival 
of  life  that  has  died  down,  or  even  died  away. 
"  They  that  dwell  under  His  shadow  shall  return, 
they  shall  revive  as  the  corn."  How  comforting  to 
all  who  feel  that  somehow  the  vitality  and  richness 
of  their  spiritual  life  have  been  lost,  as  the  corn  and 
vine  seem  to  have  perished  under  the  snow  and  frost 
of  winter!  Nothing  seems  more  hopeless  than  the 
stem  of  the  vine  in  winter,  and  yet  at  the  breath  of 
summer  it  bursts  into  a  wealth  of  green  and  purple, 
all  beauty  and  fragrance. 

Let  me  not  despair  if  from  any  cause  my  spiritual 
life  should  languish.  Let  me  come  back  in  penitence, 
desire,  and  faith  to  the  God  of  all  grace,  and  I  shall 
"  revive  as  the  corn  and  blossom  as  the  vine."  The 
shadow  of  God  is  the  sunshine  of  the  soul.  Let 
me  dwell  in  that  shadow,  and  I  shall  soon  exult, 
"I  am  like  a  green  fir-tree";  and  He  who  is  the 
dew,  the  sunlight,  the  summer  unto  Israel  shall 
respond,  "  From  Me  is  thy  fruit  found." 


347 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  13 

Scripture  Reading— Luke  i.  46-55 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"But  when  he  was  strong,  his  heart  was  lifted  up  to  his 
destruction." — 2  Chron.  xxvi.  16 

SCIENTISTS  teach  that  it  was  an  advantage  to 
certain  animals  to  increase  in  bulk  up  to  a 
certain  point,  but,  having  reached  that  point,  the 
increase  of  size  became  the  cause  of  their  extinction. 
The  glorious  train  of  the  peacock  was  at  first  an 
advantage,  but  as  its  plumes  increase  in  number 
and  size  they  become  dangerous  to  the  bird,  it  flies 
with  difficulty.  The  expansion  of  the  wings  in 
butterflies  of  certain  families  seems  to  have  reached 
a  maximum,  any  further  development  threatens  the 
existence  of  the  species. 

Whatever  truth  there  may  be  about  the  danger  to 
animals  through  development  in  size,  it  is  very  clear 
that  increase  in  power,  riches,  or  popularity  is  fraught 
with  temptation  to  poor  human  nature.  The  peacock 
train  soon  makes  it  difficult  to  rise  above  the  ground, 
the  swollen  estate  has  a  determination  to  the  head, 
the  expanding  butterfly  wings  prove  a  peril.  Let 
me  beware.  A  very  small  rag  of  purple  is  enough 
to  intoxicate,  and  the  purple  is  sad  indeed  if  the 
white  of  leprosy  shows  through. 


348 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  14 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Chron.  xxx.  13-23 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son  cleanseth  U8  from  all  sin." 

— I  John  i.  7 

THE  ground  of  forgiveness.  "The  priests 
sprinkled  the  blood."  "  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  His  Son  cleanseth  from  all  sin."  No  forgive- 
ness except  at  the  cross.  The  life  surrendered  at 
Calvary  atones  for  sin,  brings  purity  and  peace. 

The  condition  of  forgiveness.  "  Every  one  that 
setteth  his  heart  to  seek  God,"  or,  "him  that 
setteth  his  whole  heart."  Truly  a  fault  is  not  effaced 
because  we  reproach  ourselves  with  it ;  it  is  effaced 
only  when  we  set  our  whole  heart  to  seek  the  Divine 
mercy  and  strength. 

The  sign  of  forgiveness.  "And  the  Lord  healed 
the  people."  The  proof  of  pardon  is  the  inspiration 
that  cures  us  of  our  old  sins.  "  Who  forgiveth  all 
thine  iniquities  ;  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases."  The 
proof  of  the  former  is  found  in  the  latter. 

The  blessedness  of  forgiveness.  "  Singing  with 
loud  instruments  unto  the  Lord."  Brass  bands  are 
enough  to  express  earthly  joy ;  all  the  golden  bands 
of  heaven  are  insufficient  to  express  the  gladness  of 
those  whose  sin  is  forgiven,  whose  iniquity  is  covered. 


349 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  15 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading — Isa.  xxxvii.  5-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"And  Hezekiah  spread  the  letter  before  the  Lord."—lsA.  xxxvii.  14 

WHEN  we  see  the  postman  hastening  from 
door  to  door  we  do  not  always  think  what 
a  portentous  messenger  he  is.  He  brings  letters 
black-bordered,  telling  of  heart-rending  bereavements. 
Threatening  letters  are  in  his  bag,  and  his  sharp 
knock  is  to  many  the  note  of  doom.  Perplexing 
letters  demanding  replies  we  know  not  how  to  give, 
or  hardly  dare  to  give,  are  thrust  into  our  hands. 
The  postman  is  a  great  troubler  of  Israel. 

What  a  grand  thing  to  spread  the  letter  before  the 
Lord !  He  is  the  great  "  Dissolver  of  doubts,"  and 
will  give  light,  comfort,  courage,  to  all  who  seek 
Him. 

A  little  boy  who  could  not  get  satisfactory  replies 
to  his  questions  said  to  his  mother,  "  I  wish  I  could 
have  five  minutes  with  God."  Oh !  what  a  flood  of 
light,  hush  of  peace,  pulse  of  power,  flush  of  gladness, 
will  five  minutes  with  God  give ! 


350 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  16 

Scripture  Reading — Ezek.  xxxv. 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  Whereas  the  Lord  was  there."— Ezek.  xxxv.  io 

THE  "Intelligence  Department"  is  sometimes 
strangely  at  fault.  It  takes  note  of  tangible 
things,  of  troops,  guns,  and  positions,  leaving  out 
impalpable  factors  on  which  really  all  turns — such 
as  the  genius  of  the  commander,  the  heroism  of  the 
troops,  the  superiority  of  weapons.  Assyria  saw 
only  what  meets  the  carnal  eye,  "  whereas  the  Lord 
was  there."     How  often  men  forget  the  main  Factor ! 

A  mere  handful  of  Spaniards  conquered  South 
America,  prevailed  against  tens  of  thousands  of 
Aztecs,  because  whilst  the  natives  had  only  rude 
weapons,  the  invaders  had  powder  and  shot.  That 
little  fact  made  all  the  difference. 

Celestial  warriors  come  armed  with  a  magical 
panoply,  their  weapons  are  subtle,  they  wield  strange 
forces,  and  so  a  single  angel  breathes  in  the  face  of 
the  foe,  and  they  melt  like  snow  in  the  glance  of 
the  Lord.  When  shall  I  believe  in  the  irresistibility 
of  purity  and  faith  f 


351 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  17 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xxxi.  9-24 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"My  times  are  in  Thy  hand." — Ps.  xxxi.  15 

HOW  much  depends  upon  knowing  when  the 
time  is  exactly  ripe !  Not  to  interfere  before 
the  crisis  arrives,  not  to  let  the  opportunity  pass 
when  the  crisis  has  arrived ;  this  power  of  discern- 
ment, of  patience  and  promptitude,  is  a  gift  of  super- 
lative value. 

Who  knows  the  psychological  moment  like  the 
Keeper  of  Israel !  He  does  not  interfere  too  soon ; 
He  allows  the  enemy  rope  enough  to  hang  himself; 
He  waits  until  His  people  know  their  weakness  and 
peril,  and  are  shut  up  to  Him.  He  does  not  interpose 
too  late ;  at  the  critical  juncture  He  smites  the  pride 
of  the  unrighteous,  honours  the  faith  of  His  people. 

We  see  in  nature  how  precisely  God  works  by  the 
clock ;  and  certainly  He  is  not  less  exact  in  the 
times  and  seasons  of  human  life.  We  often  speak 
of  "  the  hour  and  the  man  " ;  let  us  remember  the 
hour  and  the  God.    "  A  very  present  help  in  trouble." 


352 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  18 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  xxiii.  13-25 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Never  man  spake  like  this  man." — John  vii.  46 

NIETZSCHE,  the  German  sceptic,  whose 
delirious  writings  just  now  excite  much 
attention,  observes  :  "  In  the  New  Testament  only  one 
figure  appears  which  we  are  compelled  to  honour — 
Pilate,  the  Roman  Governor." 

It  must  therefore  be  very  interesting  to  the 
admirers  of  Nietzsche  to  read  what  Pilate  thought  of 
the  Lord  Jesus.  "  Behold,  I,  having  examined  Him 
before  you,  found  no  fault  in  this  man  touching  those 
things  whereof  ye  accuse  Him."  One  with  any  sense 
of  morality  will  find  it  difficult  to  honour  Pilate,  but 
his  testimony  to  the  purity  of  Jesus  we  are  bound  to 
respect. 

So  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses  from  all  quarters 
testify  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  Out  of  the  mouths 
of  His  enemies  praise  is  perfected  by  Him  who  makes 
the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him.  The  modern  Pagan 
endorses  the  acquittal  declared  by  the  ancient  Pagans. 


353 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  19 

Scripture  Reading— Job  i.  13-22 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Christ  also  suffered  for  us,  leauing  us  an  example." — i  Pet. 
ii.  21 

ONE  of  the  very  greatest  writers  on  science,  in 
discussing  the  presence  of  pain  in  the  world, 
has  just  reminded  his  brethren  that  the  very  existence 
of  pain  is  one  of  the  essential  factors  in  evolution  ; 
that  it  has  been  developed  in  the  animal  world  for  a 
purpose  ;  that  it  is  strictly  subordinated  to  the  law  of 
utility ;  and  therefore  never  developed  beyond  what 
is  actually  needed  for  the  preservation  of  life. 

Is  not  this  precisely  the  view  that  revelation  gives 
of  the  place  of  suffering  in  the  moral  universe  ?  Pain 
is  essential  to  our  highest  development ;  it  is  always 
developed  for  a  purpose;  it  is  strictly  subordinated 
to  the  moral  design  ;  and  is  therefore  never  developed 
beyond  what  is  actually  needed  :  these  are  the  great 
teachings  of  the  New  Testament  touching  the 
presence  and  action  of  pain  in  the  spiritual  life.  They 
are  full  of  rational  comfort 


354 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  20 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Cor.  iii.  7-18 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  The  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes. " 
— Ps.  xix.  8 

IT  is  surprising  what  a  magical  power  is  operative 
in  a  ray  of  light.  A  naturalist  writes  :  "  Whilst 
I  was  watching,  a  ray  of  sunlight  happened  to  fall 
directly  on  the  path  of  the  chrysalis  under  observation. 
Immediately  there  was  a  response.  The  pupa 
suddenly  jerked  as  if  startled  by  the  light.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  great  things — that  wandering  ray  of 
light  was  evidently  Nature's  signal  to  the  hidden 
butterfly  within,  informing  it  that  then  was  the  oppor- 
tune moment  for  it  to  come  forth.  Instantly  the 
chrysalis  began  to  bulge,  the  enveloping  shell  burst 
open,  the  butterfly  quickly  appeared." 

Is  it  not  somewhat  thus  when  a  ray  of  heaven's 
sunlight,  reflected  from  the  sacred  page,  falls  upon 
the  soul?  What  an  illuminating,  a  quickening, 
rejoicing,  converting  power  there  is  in  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel,  in  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  I 


355 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  21 

ScRiPTDRE  Reading — Matt,  ii.  1-12 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We  have  seen  His  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  worstiip 
Him." — Matt.  ii.  2 

WISE  men  from  afar  are  still  seeking  that  cradle. 
All  the  great  religions  of  the  earth  are 
really  feeling  for  Christ.  The  consummation  of  all 
deep  thought  and  aspiration  is  in  Him.  And  al- 
though often  unknowingly,  all  the  sovereign  thinkers 
do  Him  reverence. 

The  geatest  of  men  have  in  successive  generations 
made  that  cradle  the  shrine  of  their  sincerest  worship. 
In  the  corn-fields  the  heaviest  heads  bow  most,  and 
the  mightiest  intellects  have  done  the  Master  lowliest 
reverence. 

All  the  ground  is  strewn  with  the  tokens  of  their 
homage — sublime  poems,  harps  and  organs,  deep 
philosophies,  eloquent  orations,  rich  sculpture,  de- 
lightful pictures,  magnificent  architecture,  dedicated 
to  His  praise  and  glory.  Genius  brings  its  choicest 
products  to  His  feet,  and  thinks  them  poor. 


356 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  22 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  ii.  8-20 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"/  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all 
people." — Luke  ii.  10 

THE  Lord  manifested  to  the  sage,  the  sovereign, 
is  now  manifest  to  the  shepherd.  This  last 
was  peculiarly  significant  of  the  genius  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

The. people  need  Christ.  They  have  their  share  of 
sin,  suffering,  sorrow.  They  deeply  need  the  grace, 
consolations,  and  strengthening  of  the  Gospel.  The 
people  are  capable  of  Christ.  Without  the  intel- 
lectual distinction  of  the  Magi,  or  the  social  eminence 
of  Herod,  they  have  the  essential  greatness  of  soul 
which  renders  them  capable  of  Christ  and  of  His 
greatest  gifts.  The  people  rejoice  in  Christ.  "  The 
shepherds  returned,  glorifying  and  praising  God  for 
all  the  things  that  they  had  heard  and  seen."  From 
that  day  to  this  a  new  glory  has  shone  on  all  common 
scenes,  a  new  joy  has  filled  the  common  heart  that 
has  been  opened  to  the  Prince  of  Peace,  the  Saviour 
of  the  world. 


357 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  23 

Scripture  Reading — Luke  ii.  25-35 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"A  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  Thy  people 
Israel." — Luke  ii.  32 

THE  manifestation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  the 
good.  Simeon  waited  for  the  Messiah,  and 
knew  that  he  had  not  waited  in  vain.  Scientists  tell 
how  the  flowers  of  the  Alps  are  buried  for  long 
months  under  the  snow,  yet  all  the  time  they  are  full 
of  energy  and  expectation,  and  no  sooner  does  the 
sun  shine  than  in  a  few  hours  they  open  into  glorious 
flower.  So  Simeon  waited  through  a  long  life,  waited 
as  beneath  cold  snows,  but  at  the  first  kiss  of  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  he  broke  into  flower. 

Men  who  have  been  good  according  to  their  lights, 
waiting  for  a  yet  higher  good,  and  then  suddenly 
coming  into  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  feel  that  they 
have  found  in  Him  just  what  they  longed  and  hoped 
for,  and  forthwith  blossom  as  the  rose. 

The  Bible  is  a  glorious  revelation  of  mercy  and 
helpfulness.  It  is  the  Magna  Charta,  converting  a 
world  of  slaves  into  a  world  of  free  men  rejoicing 
in  the  liberty  of  the  glory  wherewith  Christ  maketh 
free. 


358 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  24 

Scripture  Reading— Matt.  ii.  1-12 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"  fn  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."— G^^.  xii.  3 

WHEN  the  morning  dawns  and  the  sun  arises 
all  obscene  birds  are  disquieted  and  hasten 
to  their  hiding  place ;  the  snails  leave  their  slimy  trail, 
and  take  cover ;  the  wild  beasts  lay  themselves  down 
in  their  dens.  The  sun  searches  them  out.  But  now 
it  calls  forth  whatever  is  of  a  higher  quality !  Instead 
of  the  slug,  the  butterfly ;  instead  of  the  wild  beast, 
the  cattle  feed  in  the  meadows ;  instead  of  bats  and 
owls,  the  lark  sings  at  heaven's  gate. 

So  it  was  when  the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness  "  arose 
on  the  earth.  "  Herod  was  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem 
with  him."  Whatever  belonged  to  the  night  and 
darkness  was  agitated  and  put  to  mortal  fear.  "  When 
they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced  with  exceeding  great 
joy."  At  the  first  faint  beam  of  the  golden  orb  the 
pure  greeted  the  day  with  rapture,  all  the  birds  of 
heaven  broke  into  song. 

Unto  the  sincere,  the  penitent,  the  good  and  pure, 
unto  all  them  that  believe,  Christ  is  precious. 


359 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  25 

Scripture  Reading— John  i.  1-14 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given." — ISA.  ix.  6 

HOW  the  race  from  the  beginning  has  been 
steadily  gazing  into  heaven  expecting  a 
Saviour — one  who  should  break  the  awful  tyranny 
of  evil  by  which  we  are  accursed  ! 

The  race  looks  unto  heaven  for  a  deliverer,  because 
it  is  profoundly  conscious  that  it  cannot  save  itself; 
that  there  is  no  law  of  salvation  working  in  us,  or  in 
the  nature  of  things.  Science  tells  us  that  there  is  in 
creatures  a  "  regenerative  capacity "  by  which  any 
injury  they  may  receive  is  repaired;  but  in  creatures 
high  up  in  the  scale  of  being  the  regenerative  capacity 
is  usually  very  slight.  The  regenerative  moral 
capacity  in  the  creature  highest  up  in  the  scale  of 
being  is  certainly  pathetically  inadequate  to  his 
restoration  to  purity  and  happiness. 

Unto  us  the  long-expected  Saviour  has  been  re- 
vealed. His  shining  form  walks  in  the  gulf  of  despair. 
Let  me  be  sure  that  I  prove  His  saving  virtue. 


360 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  26 

Scripture  Reading — Dan.  vi.  16-23' 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"He  shall  cover  thee  with  His  feathers,  and  under  His  wings 
shalt  thou  trust." — Ps.  xci.  4 

LIONS  are  not  cannibalistic,  they  will  not  devour 
their  own  species,  lion  respects  lion  ;  and  so 
they  saw  in  Daniel  the  features  of  their  own  royal 
breed,  and  left  him  unscathed. 

How  majestic  is  courage  combined  with  innocence  ! 
This  is  the  main  lesson  of  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den. 
He  had  faith  in  God,  was  absolutely  loyal  to  the 
truth,  and  with  a  pure  heart  dared  everything  and 
triumphed. 

Our  defence  from  the  powers  of  darkness  is  in  the 
heroism  of  faith  and  purity.  "  He  goeth  about  as  a 
roaring  lion  seeking  whom  he  may  devour,"  but  he 
has  to  keep  a  painfully  long  fast  among  the  pure. 
The  wicked  one  toucheth  them  not.  Noah  had  a 
good  many  uncomfortable  beasts  in  his  cabin,  but  he 
lived  to  see  the  rainbow :  and  in  the  Ark  of  God  I  am 
safe  until  I  greet  the  bow  around  the  throne. 


361 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  27 

Scripture  Reading — Ephes.  iv.  1-16 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"Jesus  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favour  with 

God  and  man. " — Luke  ii.  52 

COLERIDGE  defined  genius  as  "  a  capacity  for 
growth."  The  real  genius  is  he  who  is  always 
transcending  himself,  always  becoming  more  wonder- 
ful in  vision,  expression,  execution. 

"  And  the  child  grew."  Is  not  the  distinctive 
feature  of  everything  connected  with  Christ's  "  capacity 
for  growth"?  Nothing  pertaining  to  Him  ever 
exhausts  itself.  The  dew  is  ever  on  its  branches,  it  is 
ever  extending  its  shade,  it  is  ever  bringing  forth 
fruits  of  life  and  beauty. 

Do  I  grow  as  my  Master  did?  The  test  of  the 
Christian  spirit  is  "  capacity  for  growth."  Ever 
becoming  clearer-eyed,  wider  in  knowledge,  stronger 
in  holy  will,  with  a  richer  overflowing  joyousness,  and 
a  larger  passion  for  service  and  sacrifice.  May  the 
grace  of  God  rest  on  me,  making  me  liberally  to  share 
my  Master's  strength  and  glory ! 


362 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  28 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  IL 

Thought  for  the  Day 
"Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  0  God." — Ps.  H.  lo 

MEN  who  realise  the  subtlety,  tyranny,  and 
destructiveness  of  sin,  know  well  that  all 
amelioration,  reformation  is  unavailing.  Nothing 
short  of  a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit  will  suffice. 

Creation  is  absolutely  the  work  of  God,  The  ablest 
man  is  helpless  until  certain  material  is  furnished  him  ; 
it  may  be  very  little,  but  he  must  have  it  to  start  with, 
he  cannot  create  the  initial  thing.  Erasmus  Darwin 
once  wrote :  "  Give  me  a  fibre  susceptible  of  irritation, 
and  1  will  make  a  tree,  a  dog,  a  horse,  a  man."  Yes, 
granted  the  fibre  we  may  do  much ;  but  the  original 
fibre  is  the  essential  thing,  without  this  we  can  do 
nothing,  and  thus  we  cannot  create.  After  God 
creates  within  us  a  clean  heart,  much  depends  upon 
our  personal  culture;  but  the  original  implantation 
of  right  dispositions  and  principles  is  purely  the  pre- 
rogative of  the  Creator  Spirit. 

O  that  I  may  be  "  a  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus ! " 


3^3 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  29 

Scripture  Reading — 2  Chron.  xxxiv.  1-7 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  While  he  was  yet  young  he  began  to  seek  after  the  God  of 
David  his  father." — 2  Chron.  xxxiv.  3 

THE  fact  of  pious  Josiah  springing  from  a  father 
like  Amon,  and  a  grandfather  like  Manasseh, 
reminds  us  of  a  work  on  science  entitled  T/ie  Survival 
of  the  Unlike. 

However  heredity  may  prevail  in  the  realms  of 
physics  and  mentality,  it  is  evident  that  it  does  not 
determine  moral  and  religious  character.  The  best  of 
fathers  have  bad  sons ;  the  best  of  children  may  arise 
in  godless  and  immoral  households. 

The  principal  of  a  large  philanthropic  Home  told 
the  writer,  that  many  of  the  best  children  were  the 
offspring  of  abandoned  parents,  lilies  grown  in  the 
mud.  The  principle  of  individuality  is  mysteriously 
protected,  the  germ  of  freedom  in  the  child  sacredly 
preserved.  Modern  science  discerns  the  originality 
and  isolation  of  the  individual.  My  ancestors  do  not 
determine  my  moral  character,  my  spiritual  affinity. 
Bodily  succession  does  not  imply  a  tyranny  coercing 
the  soul.  I  am  independent  and  responsible.  There- 
fore I  give  an  account  of  myself  unto  God. 


364 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 


December  30 

Scripture  Reading — i  Pet.  iv,  i-ii 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand :  be  ye  therefore  sober,  and 
watch  unto  prayer." — i  Pet.  iv.  7 

IS  not  the  whole  philosophy  of  safety  from  the 
allurements  of  the  animal  life  in  this  injunc- 
tion? 

Wholesomeness  of  mind  is  the  true  preservative. 
Says  Alfred  Wallace,  *'  Health  of  body  and  of  mind 
are  the  only  natural  safeguards  against  disease."  And, 
again,  "A  condition  of  health  is  the  one  and  only 
protection  we  require  against  all  kinds  of  disease." 
Yes,  it  is  the  one  and  only  protection  we  require 
against  moral  disease. 

Keep  the  imagination  undefiled,  the  thought  sober, 
the  heart  pure.  Hence  Emerson  justly  warns  us, 
"  There  is  no  greater  peril  than  a  voluptuous  book." 
Shun  the  literature  that  will  coarsen  the  brain,  that 
will  familiarise  the  mind  with  the  gross  and  incon- 
tinent ;  and  not  only  shun  such  literature,  but  also  what- 
ever else  defileth  and  maketh  a  lie.  A  mind,  sound, 
sober,  spiritual,  is  a  garrison  that  hell  can  neither 
surprise  nor  force. 


365 


THE  GATES  OF  DAWN 

December  31 

Scripture  Reading — Ps.  xc 

Thought  for  the  Day 

"  We  glory  in    tribulations    also :   knowing    that  tribulation 
worketh  patience." — Rom.  v.  3 

WRITING  concerning  the  severe  cyclones 
which  occasionally  visit  North  Queensland, 
a  traveller  observes,  "  Nature  is  rational  even  in  her 
most  passionate  moments.  Vegetation,  rank  and 
gross  as  in  an  un weeded  garden,  requires  vigorous 
lopping.  These  storms  comb  out  superfluous 
branches,  cut  out  dead  wood,  destroy  decayed  shoots, 
and  cleanse  trunks  and  branches  of  parasitic  growths. 
All  is  done  boldly,  yet  with  such  skill  that  in  a  few 
weeks  losses  are  hidden  under  masses  of  clean,  healthy, 
bright  foliage.  The  soil  has  received  a  luxurious 
top-dressing.  Trees  and  plants  respond  to  the 
stimulus  with  magical  vigour,  for  lazy,  slumbering 
forces  have  been  roused  into  efforts  so  splendid  that 
the  realism  of  tropical  vegetation  is  to  be  appreciated 
only  after  Nature  has  swept  and  sweetened  her 
garden."  What  a  vivid  parable  of  the  blessing 
brought  by  the  tempests  which  sweep  the  soul ! 

He  enriches  us  through  suffering.  "  The  ripest 
fruit  grows  against  the  roughest  wall."  He  completes 
us  through  loss.  As  the  sculptor  perfects  the  statue 
by  striking  off  one  marble  flake  after  another,  so 
Heaven  perfects  the  soul  by  a  succession  of  blows 
and  deprivations. 

"  Praise  to  the  Holiest  in  the  height. 

And  in  the  depth  be  praise  ; 

In  all  His  words  most  wonderful, 

Most  sure  in  all  His  ways." 


366 


THE 
GATES    OF     PRAYER 


BY 


LAUCHLAN    MACLEAN    WATT 

AUTHOR   OF    "the   TRYST "    "  BY   STILL  WATERS*' 
"the   communion    table"   ETC. 

Minister  of  St,  Stephen's,  Edinburgh 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


Bew  l^ear  Ufme 

OGOD  of  the  years  that  are  past,  and  the  years  that  are 
coming — through  whose  hand  run  the  fleeting  sands 
of  the  present,  pardon  us  for  the  errors  and  sins  of  the  days 
that  are  dead;  help  us  in  all  our  thinking  and  doing  in  the 
days  that  are  to  be. 

Let  us  not  remember  too  much  the  sorrows  that  have  been. 
Lift  up  our  hearts  and  our  hopes  to  the  dreams  and  ideals 
that  are  before  us,  that  we  may  rise  above  the  weaknesses, 
meannesses,  and  sinfulness  which  do  so  often  dog  us  to  our 
fall.  Give  us  gladness  in  Thine  own  time,  leading  us,  by  Thy 
pity,  nearer  Christ;  comforting  us  when  we  grow  weary,  by 
Thy  love,  and  saving  us  at  last  through  Thine  unending  mercy. 

Father,  take  not  the  veil  from  the  future.  If  only  Thou  be 
with  us  in  the  day  that  is  coming,  full  of  the  unknown,  it  is 
well.  Uphold  us  in  whatsoever  sorrows  it  may  bring  with  it. 
Pity  us  in  the  trials  that  await  us.  Consecrate  our  gladnesses 
and  our  griefs  together,  and  hold  our  hands  when  we  walk 
through  the  darkness.  Whatsoever  Thou  give  to  us  or  take 
from  us  let  Thy  blessing  be  above  and  about  us,  and  keep  us 
true  men  and  women  till  we  go  home  to  Thee. 

There  are  graves  behind  us  all,  O  Father,  and  silence  and 
darkness  where  there  were  voices  beloved  and  faces  that  we 
knew  in  days  gone  by.  Only  let  us  not  forget  that  Thou  art 
ever  before  us  and  Thy  love  beside  us,  and  we  will  still  be 
brave  enough  to  dare  all  that  the  dying  days  can  hold.  Guide 
us  aright,  O  God. 

Thou  hast  given  us  all  the  world  and  its  beauty,  O  our 
God — all  the  friendships  and  the  loves,  the  successes  and  the 
joys  that  we  have  known.  We  can  offer  Thee  only  our  failures, 
our  weaknesses,  our  sorrows,  and  our  sins.  Have  mercy  upon 
us,  and  pity  us  in  our  confessions,  O  our  Father.  Help  us 
to  find  again  the  way  we  have  lost,  to  see  the  light  that  we 
turned  from,  and  to  acknowledge  the  mastery  of  Thy  holy  will. 
For  Jesu's  sake. 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


Sunba^  /Iftornfng 

OGOD  our  Father,  Who  hast  brought  us  to  the  threshold 
of  another  day,  we  bring  into  Thy  presence  the 
remembrance  of  the  days  that  have  died, — the  sorrows  and  the 
joys  which  they  have  held,  the  sweet  hopes  and  promises  with 
which  they  began,  and  the  pain  of  heart  for  the  unrealised 
and  the  unfulfilled  with  which  we  drew  the  curtain  over  their 
completion. 

We  meant  to  be  loving  and  faithful,  tender  to  those  Thou 
hast  given  us,  and  true  to  Thee ;  but  we  have  not  remembered 
how  feeble  we  are,  and  how  easy  it  is  for  us  to  fail  and  fall. 
We  have  not  been  watchful  against  our  weakness ;  and  little 
things  of  slight  account  have  put  our  souls  to  shame.  We 
have  forgotten  our  duties  to  one  another,  and  to  our  fellow- 
men  ;  and  have  lost  sight,  too  often,  of  human  charity,  and 
the  kindly  graces  of  ordinary  daily  life.  We  have  not  been 
helpful  to  those  whose  needs  we  have  encountered,  nor  humble 
in  our  claims  upon  others,  nor  unselfish  in  our  relationships. 
And  we  confess,  with  sadness,  opportunities  unused  and 
chances  lost. 

With  this  sense  of  the  incomplete  and  the  insufficient  in 
our  hearts,  we  pray  Thee  to  have  pity  upon  us.  Let  us  feel 
within  us  the  assurance  of  pardon.  Give  us  new  strength  for 
the  new  days  lying  before  us. 

Make  this  day,  for  all  Thy  children,  a  day  of  glad  promise 
in  worship  of  Thee,  whether  with  those  who  seek  Thee  in 
Thy  house,  or  who,  in  the  quiet  of  lonely  rooms,  bend  in 
prayer  before  Thee.  Let  us  rise  from  our  knees  to  higher 
thoughts,  fairer  hopes,  and  nobler  efforts  after  the  beautiful,  the 
loving,  and  the  true.  Open  unto  our  knocking,  O  our  Father, 
we  implore  Thee,  and  lead  us  in  to  whatsoever  Thou  wilt. 

Put  into  the  mouths  of  Thy  teachers  this  day  everywhere, 
words  of  renewal,  inspiration,  and  quickening.  Let  Thy  glory 
burn  above  Thy  holy  page,  till  its  truth  become  lit  with  flame 
unquenchable.  Keep  us  near  Thee,  O  God,  lest,  like  poor 
children,  we  miss  Thy  voice  amidst  our  many  distractions,  and 
be  lost  for  ever  in  the  darkness.     For  Jesu's  sake. 


3  A  369 


THE  GATES  OF  TRAYER 


Sun&a^  iBx>cninQ 

LET  all  the  world  be  brought  nearer  to  Thee,  O  God, 
this  quiet  night.  Let  Christ  lay  His  Cross  over  all 
hearts  and  all  life's  varied  and  fluctuating  interests,  claiming 
them  for  Thee ;  and  may  all  roads  everywhere  be  highways  of 
Thine  angels,  till  darkness  and  sin  be  driven  far  away.  Be 
Thy  light  our  guide,  for  evermore. 

Heavenly  Father,  bless  the  place  we  live  in.  Guide  its 
trade,  and  bless  all  whose  enterprise  has  helped  to  make  it 
what  it  is.  Let  its  leaders  always  be  men  of  noblest  integrity 
and  worth.  Bless  our  native  land,  in  all  its  interests.  Watch 
over  our  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  all  our  colonists,  scattered 
abroad  across  the  world.  Let  Thy  light  be  on  the  sea  and  on 
the  land,  guiding  all  for  the  best.  Be  with  the  weary,  the  sad, 
and  the  dying,  giving  them  the  rest,  the  consolation,  and  the 
strength  they  most  require. 

Comfort  all  mourners.  Hush  all  angry  passions.  Let  Thy 
peace  steal  over  all  the  world's  distresses.  Calm  the  distracted, 
and  lead  the  dying  home.  Bless  all  we  love,  and  make  and 
keep  us  worthy  of  the  affection  of  our  own  dear  ones,  and  the 
esteem  of  our  fellow-men.  Set  Thy  star  above  our  darkness, 
and  keep  it  shining  till  it  guide  us  to  Thy  day. 

O  God,  be  near  to  those  whose  worship-hour  brings  no 
gladness  of  communion  with  Thy  spirit,  because  their  hearts 
are  cold  and  forsaken.  Soften  and  subdue  unto  Thyself  all 
the  world's  children,  O  our  God,  and  let  Thy  love,  this  night, 
enfold  them  with  a  blessing  which  shall  make  them  truly 
Thine,  full  of  a  sense  of  Thy  presence,  Thy  pardon,  and  Thy 
grace.     For  Jesu's  sake. 


370 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


OTHOU  Who  art  the  God  and  Guide,  alike  of  our  rest 
and  our  labour,  we  thank  Thee  for  the  peace  of  the 
past  night, — that  Thou  hast  watched  over  us  when  we  slept, 
and  saved  us  from  all  harm.  We  thank  Thee  for  quiet  sleep, 
and  for  the  restoration  which  comes  thereby  to  our  bodies  and 
our  souls.  And,  ere  we  go  out  to  face  the  world's  hard  week 
again,  we  would  kneel  for  Thy  blessing,  which  is  life  itself 
to  us. 

Protect  us,  in  the  day  that  lies  before  us,  from  all  that  is 
mean,  unworthy,  and  untrue.  In  the  business  of  life,  help  us 
to  keep  our  hands  and  hearts  honest  and  clean.  Let  no  gain 
lure  us  from  the  upright  way,  or  tempt  us  to  be  unkind  or 
unfair  to  those  with  whom  we  have  our  daily  dealings.  Keep 
us  ever  mindful  that  Thou  beholdest  all  things,  even  our  most 
secret  thought.  Suffer  us  not,  O  God,  to  darken  or  disgrace 
the  joy  of  our  beloved,  or  the  trust  they  have  in  us ;  but  may 
our  Uves,  alike  in  their  relation  to  those  beside  us  and  the 
world  without,  be  evidences  that  we  are  Thine,  or  that  we  are 
seeking  Thee. 

We  do  not  ask  Thee  to  take  the  veil  from  the  future.  If 
only  Thou  be  with  us  in  the  day  that  is  coming,  full  of  the 
unknown,  it  will  be  well.  Uphold  us  in  whatsoever  sorrows 
it  may  bring  with  it.  Pity  us  in  what  trials  may  await  us. 
Consecrate  our  gladnesses  and  our  griefs  together,  and  hold 
us  firm  when  we  walk  through  darkened  places.  Whatsoever 
Thou  wilt  give  us  or  take  from  us,  let  Thy  blessing  be  always 
above  us ;  and  keep  us  true  men  and  women  till  we  go  home 
to  Thee. 

Strengthen  all  who  are  shrinking  from  this  day's  duties. 
Breathe  Thy  grace  over  all  who  tremble  before  this  day's  pain. 
And  give  perseverance,  steadfastness,  and  growth  in  grace  to 
every  brave  heart  which  is  trying  to  do  its  best.  For  Jesu's 
sake. 


371 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


/II^on^a^  Evening 

HEAVENLY  FATHER,  as  we  began  the  day  on  our 
knees  before  Thee,  so  must  we  end  it ;  and  as  we 
sought  Thy  help  and  guidance  in  the  morning  hour,  so  would 
we  beg  Thy  mercy  and  Thy  pardon  for  all  that  has  made  our 
work  a  thing  of  feeble  effort,  wavering,  fickle,  and  incomplete. 
We  have  tried,  but  not  so  bravely  as  we  ought,  to  do  our  best, 
and  we  wonder  at  Thy  patience  with  us,  when  we  see  how 
poor  is  the  result  of  all  we  have  attempted.  We  are  ashamed 
to  think  how  far  apart  our  day's  work  stands  from  the  hope 
of  our  morning  prayer.  It  is  a  poor  instrument  on  which  we 
praise  Thee,  a  thing  of  broken  strings,  jarring  and  out  of  tune. 
Be  Thou  the  Master-musician,  and  set  aright  once  more  our 
souls'  discordancies. 

We  confess  our  shortcomings,  our  errors  of  pride  and 
obstinate  self-will,  our  frequent  halting  in  our  quest  of  good, 
because  it  wearied  us,  or  because  it  did  not  pay.  Father,  our 
wage  is  a  sorrowing  heart  and  unavailing  pain  over  neglected 
duty  and  unfinished  labours.  Let  the  irresistible  passing  of 
the  days  that  die  be  warning  to  us.  Let  us  be  up  and  doing,  if 
Thou  dost  give  us  another  day  of  grace,  clutching  opportunity 
as  it  runs  by,  and  getting  our  doors  and  windows  ready  for 
our  going. 

We  are  ashamed,  O  God,  to  think  how  vainly  with  our  words 
we  beat  at  heaven's  door  of  prayer,  till,  like  dead  leaves  that 
one  night's  frost  has  nipped,  they  He  along  the  pathway  of  the 
angels.  Help  us  to  live  our  prayers.  Help  us  to  answer  some 
of  them  ourselves  through  the  grace  Thou  givest. 

Seal  this  day  with  Thy  blessing  and  pardon,  we  beseech 
Thee.  Shut  its  door  fast  against  the  return  of  evil.  Let  no 
unavailing  grief  over  the  unrealised  linger  with  us ;  but  give 
our  souls  true  repentance,  which  will  turn  us  from  the  old  that 
is  unworthy  and  lift  us  to  the  new  that  has  Christ's  consecra- 
tion upon  it.  Deepen  the  blessing  of  all  that  has  been  good 
in  the  day  which  we  now  leave  behind  us.  Give  us  sweet 
sleep  until  to-morrow's  light  shall  wake  us.  Feed  our  souls 
upon  the  bread  of  life,  and  give  us  the  promise  of  the  heavenly 
vision.     For  Jesu's  sake. 


372 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


OGOD,  whose  love  makes  every  morning  sweet  and  fair, 
full  of  new  hopes  and  dreams,  we  thank  Thee  for  the 
fresh  opportunities  that  are  about  our  feet  on  this  new  day 
which  Thou  hast  given  us.  All  Nature  praises  Thee;  give 
our  hearts,  too,  the  utterance  of  our  thanks  for  all  Thy 
goodness,  and  for  Thy  beauty  on  the  water  and  the  land. 

We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  given  us  grace  to  be  patient 
with  life's  worries  and  sufferings,  for  the  daily  task,  keeping 
us  brave  enough  to  face  what  irks  us  oftentimes.  We  dare 
not  meet  the  darkness  or  the  day  unless  Thy  love  be  with 
us ;  and  sleeping  and  waking  would  alike  be  full  of  pain  and 
fear,  but  for  Thy  pity  which  moves  beside  us  as  we  go  about 
our  business,  and  watches  near  us  till  the  morning's  dawn. 

Sweet  is  Thy  love,  O  Father.  It  takes  away  the  bitterness 
from  every  cup  of  duty,  and  we  see,  through  it,  sunlight 
where  we  thought  that  all  was  dark,  and  far-stretching  ways 
where  all  seemed  trackless  waste. 

Deepen  our  lives,  that  we  may  understand  more  clearly 
what  we  are,  and  learn  more  clearly  what  we  may  yet  become. 
Loosen  some  music  within  us,  that  we  may  serve  Thee 
gladly,  and  be  enabled  to  cheer  and  encourage  others.  Give 
us  honourable  prosperity.  We  ask  not  gain  from  godliness; 
but  grant  us  the  treasure  of  golden  deeds,  and  words  of  shining 
worth,  wherewith  to  help  the  suffering  and  the  poor,  and  guide 
the  weary  into  calm. 

Make  us,  day  by  day,  more  worthy  of  Thy  mercy,  of  the 
love  of  those  around  us,  and  of  our  own  esteem. 

Remember  all  from  whose  life  the  light  has  faded,  through 
sorrow,  sickness,  sin  or  shame,  or  by  death's  passing ;  and 
bless  with  Thy  pity  the  forgotten,  the  poor,  and  the  dying. 
For  Jesu's  sake. 


373 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


OGOD,  who  hast  brought  us  again  safely  through  the 
day's  varied  difficulties  and  perplexities  to  the  time 
of  rest,  we  thank  Thee  for  Thy  care  and  guidance,  and  for 
all  hopes  and  joys  which  Thou  hast  given  us  amidst  the 
work  and  trials  of  its  varying  hours.  Help  us  now  to  leave 
our  worries  outside  these  walls.  Let  sweet  peace  be  at  our 
firesides  with  our  beloved  whom  Thou  hast  brought  into 
our  lives. 

Wherein  we  have  been  deficient,  pardon  us ;  where  we  have 
been  misled  through  frailty  of  our  nature,  give  us  Thy  pity ; 
and  be  merciful  unto  us  in  Thy  judgment  upon  us  here 
and  hereafter. 

It  is  hard  for  us  to  rise  out  of  our  temptations  and  imper- 
fections to  a  life  which  can  satisfy  even  ourselves,  to  preserve 
our  garments  white  in  an  unclean  world,  to  walk  sure  among 
so  many  pitfalls,  and  keep  our  words  free  from  the  taint  of 
earthly  conversations.  But  we  know  that  Thy  justice  weighs 
all  things  aright,  and  that  Thy  love  remembers  with  equalising 
mercy  the  failures  and  the  wrecks  whom  bitter  storms  and 
adverse  seas  drive  back  from  the  course  they  aimed  at,  as 
well  as  the  prosperous  voyagers,  and  those  whom  success 
makes  glad  at  heart.  Help  us,  therefore,  to  turn  away  from 
what  has  saddened  us,  and  to  learn  the  lesson  which  they 
teach  us.     Be  Thou  our  Saviour,  and  our  Guide. 

Especially  be  with  the  friendless,  the  forsaken,  and  the 
bereaved,  this  night,  and  all  nights.  Comfort  all  those  to 
whom  love's  going  forth  has  been  as  the  setting  of  the  sun ; 
speak  to  them  of  daybreak  on  the  other  side. 

Walk  among  our  dreams,  O  Christ,  and  keep  them  fair. 
Let  no  dark  shadows  stain  our  lives  in  sleep  or  waking. 

Unite  the  efforts  of  Thy  Son's  Church,  and  bless  all  who 
are  doing  their  best  for  Thee,  our  Father.  Give  also  even 
unto  us  the  blessing  of  Thy  grace  which  we  ask  for  all  the 
world.    For  Jesu's  sake. 


374 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


FOR  whatsoever  measure  of  gladness  and  of  health  that 
may  be  ours  this  morning,  we  give  Thee  thanks,  O 
God ;  for  the  friends  that  will  be  beside  us,  and  the  love  that 
will  speak  to  us,  and  any  prosperity  or  success  which  may 
crown  our  work.  We  praise  Thee  for  Thy  goodness,  and  Thy 
remembrance  of  us  through  the  dark  hours  when  we  were 
laid  asleep,  folded  in  forgetful  peace.  We  thank  Thee  for 
that  protecting  care  which  made  the  darkness  safe,  and  kept 
us  till  the  dawn. 

Fountain  of  love,  from  whom  all  beauty  flows,  fill  our 
hearts  with  trustfulness,  that  we  may  ever  feel  Thee  near  us 
as  we  walk  through  life.  Source  of  all  light,  be  over  all  our 
darkness,  and  let  our  narrow  vistas  expand  into  the  fulness 
of  Thy  day.  Consecrate  the  way  in  which  our  feet  should 
go,  and  let  us  behold  it  sometimes  shining  clearly,  in  the 
mists  and  perplexities  of  our  querulous  doubtings  and  blinded 
gropings  about  the  gate  of  life.  Let  us  trust,  even  where  we 
cannot  see ;  and  stretch  forth  our  uncertain  hands  until  we 
feel  Thy  kind  hands  near  us,  and  be  led,  where  we  fear  to 
venture.  It  is  enough  if  Thou  be  in  the  darkness  with  us, 
if  the  music  of  Thy  pleadings  and  Thy  promises  be  kept 
moving  in  our  hearts.  Believing,  we  shall  walk  whithersoever 
Thy  Spirit  calls  us,  trusting  always  in  our  Father's  saving  love. 

Pardon  us  our  pride  in  what  is  so  often  unworthy  of  Thy 
redeemed,  our  seeking  after  low  ideals  and  mean  desires ; 
and  do  Thou  lift  us  nearer  the  noble  life  of  service,  aspiration, 
and  achievement,  for  which  we  long. 

Let  the  meaning  of  this  day,  unknown  as  yet,  fall  apart 
before  us  as  we  move  through  it;  and  keep  and  save  us, 
with  all  dear  to  us,  from  everything  whereby  we  may  grieve 
Thy  Holy  Spirit,  or  prove  unworthy  of  our  Saviour  Christ. 

Bless  the  trade  of  our  country.  Prosper  all  her  enterprise, 
so  far  as  it  conforms  to  honesty  and  truth ;  and  let  the  fear 
of  being  false  to  Thee  be  the  only  fear  within  our  hearts. 
For  Jesu's  sake. 


375 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


Met)nes&a^  JEvcnim 

OUR  Father,  we  leave  behind  us  the  ache  of  the  day 
that  has  ended ;  and,  in  the  shadows  of  the  deepening 
night,  we  come  to  Thee.  Where  the  scars  of  the  day  are, 
let  Thy  healing  love  be  laid.  When  our  work  has  wearied 
us,  and  been  distressful  to  our  spirits,  comfort  us,  O  God, 
Here  we  would  lay  down  our  cross  for  a  Httle  while,  and  ask 
Thee,  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  who  carried  His,  to  make  it  a 
blessing  to  us.  Remember  all  cross-bearers.  Remember  all 
who  have  burdens  to  carry,  especially  those  whose  crosses 
have  been  fashioned  by  fingers  dear  to  them,  and  whose 
burdens  are  the  heavier  for  the  love  that  is  in  them. 

We  make  sorrows  often  for  ourselves,  and  we  weary  our 
spirits  in  the  quest  of  joys  that  elude  us,  and  satisfactions 
that  slip  from  our  grasp.  Little  disappointments  make  us 
forget  Thy  great  promises;  and  shadows  of  things  of  small 
account  bar  our  path  with  fears  we  cannot  face.  Give  us  a 
braver  outlook  on  life's  unequal  demands.  And  when  the 
thought  of  our  own  sin  weighs  us  low,  awaken  within  us  the 
memory  of  Christ's  love  and  sacrifice  for  us ;  and  give  to 
our  souls  the  sense  of  pitying  companionship  and  pain- 
upUfting  pardon.  Make  us  more  ready  to  respond  to  Thy 
pleading,  and  fit  us  to  be  living  instruments  of  Thy  grace. 

Remember  all  who  are  in  danger  or  distress.  Remember 
all  who  are  in  deeper  darkness  than  the  night  itself  can  bring 
them.  Remember  the  dying,  and  all  who  are  watching  by 
those  dear  to  them.  Give  peace  to  the  suffering  and  rest 
to  the  weary ;  and  watch  by  the  lonely  till  the  dawn.  Where 
the  sleepless  are  mourning,  where  Sin  sits  wide-eyed  and 
Pride  will  not  repent,  be  Thou,  this  night,  O  Father. 

Enfold  all  the  world  in  Thy  love,  and  let  no  heart  ever 
cease  to  hope  in  Thee.  Prepare  us  all  more  and  more  for 
Thy  coming,  and  keep  us  watchful,  and  ready  against  Thy 
judgment  day. 

Bless  us  and  our  beloved,  young  and  old  together,  with 
pardon  for  all  that  has  been  wrong,  or  weak,  or  imperfect  in 
our  day's  work  done;  and  grant  that  we  may  do  better  if 
To-morrow's  chance  comes  to  us.     For  Jesu's  sake. 


376 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 

XTbursbas  /iDornino 

OGOD  Who  hast  flooded  the  sleeping  world  with  sweet 
light,  and  awakened  humanity  to  labour  anew  for 
daily  bread,  let  Thy  grace  be  unto  us  as  the  dawn  of  a  new 
life,  and  do  Thou  open  our  hearts  to  knowledge  of  Thee. 

As  we  ask  Thee  to  be  always  with  us,  so  would  we  pray 
that  Thou  be  with  men  and  women  everywhere.  Comfort 
those  who  have  risen  to  face  this  day  with  old  sorrows  clinging 
to  them,  and  strengthen  any  to  whom  grief  is  coming,  that 
they  may  be  able  to  bear  what  To-day  is  bringing.  Be 
especially  near  the  sick,  whose  eyes  greet  the  dawn  with 
weariness,  out  of  a  night  of  pain  and  unrest.  Let  this  day 
be  unto  such  as  a  time  when  Christ  may  be  beside  them 
with  healing  and  love. 

Make  the  whole  world  a  temple  of  Thy  truth,  O  God. 
Let  the  Christ  of  the  knotted  cords  cleanse  its  places  of 
traffic,  driving  out  false  dealings  from  trade,  hypocrisies  from 
religion,  and  unrighteousness  from  politics  and  statecraft. 
Make  this  day  a  day  of  honour  everywhere. 

Keep  our  own  homes  and  our  own  hearts  clean,  O  Father. 
Withhold  us  from  all  that  would  displease  Thee,  or  hurt  our 
fellows,  or  be  unworthy  of  ourselves.  Help  us  to  maintain 
our  name  esteemed^  or  to  lift  it  to  the  place  of  respect  amongst 
upright  men.  For  what  Thou  givest,  make  us  grateful ;  what 
Thou  takest  from  us  let  us  resign  with  patience.  Amid  the 
flickering  shadows  and  uncertainties  of  life  let  us  often  see 
Thy  certain  light  guiding  us  in  the  way  we  ought  to  follow. 

Remember  every  soul  that  shall  this  day  be  tempted  into 
error,  or  weakness,  or  sin.  Give  them  strength  to  resist  unto 
victory. 

Bless  all  workers  everywhere,  especially  the  poor,  who  have 
hardships  and  distresses  every  day  to  bear  for  themselves 
and  those  dependent  on  them.  Bless  all  schools  and  teachers, 
and  all  who  are  seeking  knowledge.  Let  the  morning  light 
have  promise  in  it,  as  it  enters  asylums,  prisons,  hospitals,  and 
darkened  places.  Bless  little  children,  and  keep  them  in 
Thy  way,  till,  through  brave  manhood  and  fair  womanhood, 
they  reach  Thy  presence.  Make  us  all  children  of  Christ 
Jesus,  in  whose  name  we  ever  ask  these  things  from  Thee. 

377 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


FATHER,  we  thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  brought  us,  by 
a  way  untrodden  heretofore,  unto  the  close  of  another 
day.  We  are  conscious  of  our  weaknesses  in  all  that  we  have 
done.  What  we  prayed  for  with  the  morning's  light,  we  have 
not  followed  till  the  evening  hour.  The  truth  which  we  knew, 
we  have  betrayed,  and  the  faith  with  which  we  faced  the  world, 
we  have  denied,  through  selfishness  and  unrighteousness  of 
thought  and  deed.  Forgetfulness  of  simplest  duties  has  made 
us,  ere  we  knew  it,  enemies  of  Thine.  Yet,  Thou  knowest, 
for  Thou  beholdest  all  our  hidden  heart,  that  even  our  failure 
and  our  weakness  have  been  the  best  we  could  do  to-day. 
Pity  us  in  this,  O  Father,  and  make  us  fit  to  answer  our  own 
confessions  on  the  morrow,  by  better  resolves  and  truer  deeds 
sprung  from  them.  Be  Thou  the  nearer  us,  O  Christ,  our 
Saviour,  and  help  us  to  be  worthier  of  our  own  prayers. 

For  what  Thou  hast  been  to  us,  no  words  can  ever  speak 
our  thanks ;  for  what  ourselves  have  been,  no  speech  can  ever 
cover  half  our  shame.  Remember  us  when  we  are  tried 
beyond  our  strength  by  the  feeble  things  that  do  so  often 
master  us,  and  let  not  either  joy  or  sorrow  turn  our  thoughts 
from  Thee. 

Father,  we  hear,  sometimes,  through  the  dark,  the  foot- 
steps of  our  loved  ones  going  from  us.  Let  us  always  feel 
Thee  near  to  us  and  them.  Let  our  loved  ones,  in  their 
passing,  leave  a  door  open  between  us  and  Thee,  that  its  light 
may  lead  us  nearer  to  where  Thou  art,  even  in  their  going. 

Make  all  our  days  here,  days  wherein  we  may  seek  and  find 
Thee.  Let  no  earthly  shadow  perplex  us,  and  no  vain  voices 
delude  us.  Suffer  us  not,  O  God,  to  follow  any  light  but  Thine. 
And  whatsoever  Thou  give  or  take,  give  us  always  the  strength 
we  need,  with  patient  love  to  help  us  through  each  day's  trial, 
and  every  daily  duty. 

Give  us,  and  all  dear  to  us.  Thy  grace  with  soft  refreshing 
slumber,  free  from  pain.  Remember  all  Thy  children,  every- 
where, and  especially  those  who  are  sad,  or  suffering,  or  sick ; 
and  give  all  the  world,  this  night,  Thy  peace.    For  Jesu's  sake. 


378 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


3frf&a^  /TOorninG 

OTHOU  that  art  our  Saviour  and  our  Friend,  giving  us 
strength  to  labour,  hope  to  sustain  us,  and  rest  when 
the  time  of  sleep  comes  to  the  world,  we  thank  Thee  for  all 
Thy  blessings  which  are  past,  and  for  the  promises  of  Thy 
love  as  yet  unrealised.  Let  not  the  days  pass  silent  and 
meaningless.  Give  us  renewed  appreciation  of  Thy  mercies  ; 
and,  with  the  sure  sense  of  Thy  pardon  in  Christ  Jesus,  make 
our  responsibilities  become  quickening  realities.  Make  every 
day  a  new  day  for  us,  that  we  may  shake  off  the  bondage  of 
evil  which  has  been  growing  upon  us,  and  stretch  forward  to 
thoughts  and  actions  more  worthy  of  the  children  of  Thy 
saving  grace. 

Let  the  wretched  have  fresh  inspirations  toward  the  better 
life.  Let  the  mean  and  the  false  see  Christ's  way  waiting  at 
their  foot.  Let  them  see  themselves,  and  be  ashamed  in 
presence  of  the  beautiful  and  true  which  they  have  been 
betraying  and  denying.  Let  the  wounds  of  Christ  grow  in  us 
and  upon  us,  till  our  hearts  break  for  the  sorrows  of  others, 
and  our  hands  rejoice  to  be  pierced  for  the  world's  pain.  Let 
men  and  women  learn,  through  us,  something  about  Thy  love, 
and  the  life  which  has  the  Cross  for  its  guide  to  peace  and 
gladness  here. 

Thou  hast  been  beside  us  when  the  way  was  lonely,  when 
poverty  made  our  doorstep  unfrequented,  and  sorrow  made  us 
poor  companions ;  and  we  thank  Thee  for  the  power  Thou 
didst  give  unto  us  then,  to  be  strong  and  to  endure.  Be  with 
us  also  when  success  may  make  us  forgetful  of  the  constant 
need  we  have  for  Thy  help ;  and  when  the  crowd  distracts  us 
so  that  we  do  not  hear  Thy  voice. 

Give  us,  in  the  stress  of  our  day,  sweet  breathing  spaces 
where  we  may  remember  Thee.  Let  the  miisic  of  the  still 
waters,  and  the  quiet  of  the  green  pastures  be  sometimes  with 
us  even  in  the  streets  and  stairs  and  busy  strife  of  towns. 
With  the  sorrows  and  the  disappointments,  the  forgetfulness 
and  failures,  the  weakness  and  the  sin,  give  us  the  pity  of 
Christ,  and  we  shall  hope  again  and  strive  once  more,  with 
new  hearts,  for  the  mastery.     For  Jesu's  sake. 


379 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


THE  GATES  OF  TRAVER 

WE  have  said  goodbye  to  another  day,  with  all  it  has  held 
for  us ;  and,  as  we  turn  from  it,  we  seek  peace  with 
Thee,  our  God.  We  would  shut  the  door  on  every  shadow  which 
can  come  between  us  and  Thee,  or  between  us  and  those  we 
love.  The  selfishness  which  we  confess,  the  unrealised  desires 
after  perfection,  all  effort  which  we  have  left  unfinished,  all 
wherein  our  life  this  day  has  fallen  short,  we  would  thrust  be- 
hind us,  out  of  our  hearts,  into  the  night.  Come,  Thou  holy 
Spirit  of  the  Father,  and  let  Thy  peace  sink  over  our  dissatis- 
faction and  unrest.  We  are  tired  children,  weary  from  our 
joys  and  sorrows  alike  ;  and  we  cannot  lie  down  to  sleep  unless 
we  feel  our  Father  near  us  in  the  dark.  Stand  by  us  in  the 
shadows,  we  beseech  Thee,  till  the  dawn  shall  wake  the  world 
once  again. 

Pardon  our  sinfulness,  and  all  wherein,  through  mortal 
weakness,  we  have  done  amiss.  Pity  us  for  our  shifting  wills, 
our  tangled  and  confusing  passions.  We  acknowledge  our 
faults.  We  are  ashamed.  Save  us  from  the  things  that 
perplex  us,  O  our  God.  Where  we  have  erred,  direct  us 
aright  ;  where  we  are  weak,  strengthen  and  support  us  ;  where 
we  fall,  do  Thou  uplift  us. 

Remember  all  who  are  dear  to  us  ;  and  hear  their  prayer 
wherever  they  may  be.  Remember  all  the  world's  children, 
,  alike  those  whom  the  world  remembers,  and  whom  the 
world  forgets.  Soothe  the  sorrows  of  the  poor ;  and  u[:)hold 
the  faith  of  the  dying  and  bereaved.  Let  the  solitary  know 
Thou  art  beside  them  in  their  hour  of  loneliness. 

Bless  our  native  land,  and  the  children  of  our  Empire 
scattered  everywhere.  Keep  them  worthy  of  the  faith  and 
conflict  of  their  fathers.  Let  not  the  anguish  of  war  come  near 
our  borders  ;  yet  suffer  us  not  ever  to  betray,  through  coward 
fears,  the  liberty  men  wrote  upon  our  flag  in  days  of  old. 
Remember  all  who  are  oppressed,  all  who  are  fighting  just 
battles,  all  who  are  sick  and  aflflicted  everywhere.  Guide  all 
physicians  and  nurses.  Keep  politics  and  religion  honest. 
Bless  those  who  are  over  us  in  authority,  and  surround  them 
with  the  brave  and  the  true.  Pillow  the  world  on  Thy  love 
this  night  and  bless  ourselves  with  the  blessing  which  we  ask 
for  all  men  now.     For  Jesu's  sake. 

380 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 

SatuiDa^  /[Dornino 

OTHOU  Whose  days  are  deathless,  keep  us  near  Thy 
love  in  our  brief  dying  days. 

For  Thy  guidance  in  the  week  that  now  is  closing,  for  the 
continued  grace  that  has  kept  ways  open  for  our  stumbling  feet, 
for  the  pardon  which  Thou  offerest  unto  us  through  Christ,  we 
give  Thee  thanks,  O  God.  Our  lips  can  never  frame,  and  our 
words  can  never  utter,  the  fulness  of  our  sense  of  all  Thy  good- 
ness. We  can  but  kneel  before  Christ's  Cross,  and  let  our 
deepest  silence  be  our  strongest  prayer.  We  know  how 
empty  are  our  lives,  how  weak  our  best  endeavour,  how  poor 
our  noblest  thought. 

Fill  us  with  what  we  need,  O  bountiful  Creator,  and  let  us 
not  be  dark  and  shameful  in  the  world  which  Thou  hast  made 
so  fair.  Let  us  not  be  voiceless  when  all  creation  praises 
Thee ;  and  void  of  good  when  all  except  ourselves  are  fraught 
with  blessing.  Use  us,  our  Father,  for  Thy  purpose,  even  as 
water-bearers  and  love-bringers  to  those  whose  souls  are 
parched  and  desolate  here.  Let  us  go  forth  upon  our  daily 
journey,  knowing  that  Thou  wilt  help  us  to  discern  and  to 
bring  beauty  and  sweetness  to  those  who  know  it  not.  Above 
all,  touch  our  lives,  we  beseech  Thee,  with  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Make  us  lowly  and  kind  as  He  was,  following  His 
example  in  word  and  thought  and  deed.  Guard  us  against  all 
that  embitters  our  relations  with  others.  Fill  our  souls  with 
true  charity  in  judgment  and  in  utterance.  Let  us  seek  good 
rather  than  ill  in  the  lives  of  those  around  us,  that  we  may 
help  to  sweeten  the  world  for  the  day  of  the  coming  of 
Christ. 

Let  us  find  no  rest  in  sin.  Harden  the  path  of  our  forget- 
fulness  till  we  turn  out  of  it  into  the  way  of  life  and  earnest 
duty.  Enable  us  to  do  good  wheresoever  the  chance  may 
meet  us.  If  a  word  of  helpful  cheer  be  needed,  grant  that  it 
may  be  given  unto  us  to  speak  it ;  and  let  us  see  the  hands 
that  are  outstretched,  and  the  hearts  that  are  darkened,  as  we 
go  through  the  world.  Gather  the  good  of  the  week  together 
for  us,  and  bind  it  with  Thy  blessing.  Help  us  to  fling  the 
evil  for  ever  behind  us.  So  keep  us  and  all  men  busy  in  good 
work  until  the  long  rest  claims  us,  out  of  which  we  shall  awake 
to  be  with  Thee.      For  Jesu's  sake. 

381 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


Now  hast  Thou  brought  us  safely,  our  Father,  through 
another  week ;  and,  in  the  shadow  of  the  deepening 
night,  we  look  back  over  the  way  we  have  passed  hitherto,  and 
wonder  to  remember  how  poor  a  thing  we  are  making  of  our 
life.  What  will  the  unknown  days  hold  for  us,  O  God,  that 
can  render  it  easier  to  be  good  and  true  than  in  the  days  that 
we  have  known  and  used  ? 

Make  our  hearts,  this  night,  open  to  Thy  Spirit.  Silence 
the  passions  and  distracting  thoughts  that  have  their  dwelling 
there ;  and  keep  our  souls  calm  and  faithful  for  Thy  service 
on  the  morrow.  Take  away  separating  things  from  the  worship 
of  Thy  people  everywhere.  Let  not  human  pride  drive  human 
love  from  the  brotherhood  of  Christ.  Make  men  strong 
enough  to  subdue  themselves,  that  they  may  learn  the  more  of 
Thee.  Give  Thy  guidance  to  all  who  seek,  through  darkness 
and  through  sorrow,  for  the  illumination  and  the  comfort  of 
the  Cross. 

For  all  that  Thou  hast  given  to  us,  and  ever  art  bestowing, 
our  silence  must  be  slill  our  deepest  thanks.  Shame  for  our 
neglect  of  our  opportunities  puts  a  finger  on  our  lips.  But 
Thou  knowest  what  our  confessions  should  be,  and  our  regrets 
cannot  be  hid  from  Thy  pity.  If  we  were  strong,  no  heights 
should  be  beyond  us ;  but  the  steps  give  way  beneath  us, 
sometimes ;  our  hearts  faint  and  fail  us,  and  the  victory  passes 
from  our  reach.  Deepen  our  faith,  O  Thou  Redeemer  of  men  ; 
and  let  us  never  forget  how  near  Thou  always  art.  Keep  us 
more  worthy  of  Thy  remembrance,  and  the  love  of  those  we 
love. 

Fold  us  about  this  night  with  Thy  protecting  care. 
Remember  all  who  have  not  what  Thou  hast  given  to  us,  of 
comfort,  of  gladness,  of  love,  and  the  means  of  life.  Watch 
over  all  who  are  far  from  home,  dwelling  among  strangers,  or 
travelling  by  land  or  sea.  Pity  the  homeless,  and  those  that 
have  no  friends.  Remember  the  empty-hearted,  and  all  those 
whose  Hves  have  become  dark  and  joyless  through  their  own 
faults,  or  through  the  sins  of  others.     For  Jesu's  sake. 


382 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


OLORD  our  God,  Who  with  a  Father's  love  preservest 
and  guidest  all  Thy  children  day  by  day,  we  thank  thee 
that,  amidst  sorrow,  sin,  and  weakness,  'j'hcu  hast  still  been  by 
our  side,  and  hast  called  us  now  to  Thy  feet  on  another  day  of 
hope.  Be  very  near  to  us,  O  God,  and  teach  us  to  worship 
Thee  aright. 

Purify  our  thoughts,  that  they  may  be  fit  to  rise  into  Thy 
presence.  Deepen  and  intensify  our  faith,  that  we  may  stand 
fast  in  the  certainty  of  Thy  love.  Let  not  our  hope  pass  from 
us,  among  the  uncertain  things  of  time. 

We  confess  our  unworthiness,  our  selfishness,  and  our  sins, 
that  sadden  us  when  we  remember  Thee.  Take  them  from  us, 
O  Father ;  pardon  us  for  our  foolishness  and  forgetfulness ; 
and  quicken  us  that  we  may  learn  to  walk  with  those  who, 
having  followed  Thee,  have  entered,  passed  the  shadow,  into 
Thine  abiding  rest. 

Give  us  higher  aims  than  we  have  known,  and  better  resolves 
after  a  better  life  in  Thee.  Teach  us  how  to  walk  through  love 
to  Thee.  Help  us  by  the  hand,  O  Thou  that  art  ever  in  the 
darkness,  waiting  for  the  weary,  to  guide  them  home.  Forget 
us  not,  as  we  stumble,  for  without  Thee  we  are  all  forlorn. 

Teach  us  to  think  of  others  when  we  recall  Thy  love. 
Remember  those  who  are  with  us  in  the  house  of  prayer,  and 
all  who  are  hindered  through  care  or  sickness,  sadness,  poverty 
or  dying.  Remember  the  unremembered,  the  helpless,  and  the 
friendless,  we  beseech  Thee ;  and  help  us  to  live  our  own 
prayers  as  we  go  through  life's  pilgrimage.  Let  us  find  wells 
by  the  way,  and  leave  guiding  marks  for  those  who  are  coming 
after  us. 

Especially  remove  far  from  us  all  grudge  against  others,  all 
petty  anger  over  fancied  slights,  and  all  false  estimates  of  our 
own  worth  in  the  world.  And  let  each  morning  be  truly  a  gate 
to  sweeter  thoughts,  leading  us  nearer  the  realising  of  our  hopes 
in  Christ.     For  His  name's  sake. 


383 


THE  GATES  OF  PRAYER 


Sun&ai?  iBvcninQ 

WE  thank  Thee,  O  God,  for  the  day  that  now  is  closing, 
for  its  worship  and  its  teaching,  for  the  comfort  and 
the  peace  it  has  given  to  our  souls.  Grant  that  Thy  word  may 
abide  upon  us,  that  we  may  carry  with  us  into  our  week's 
labour  and  strife  the  influence  of  its  power.  When  we  are 
cast  down,  let  the  remembrance  of  it  cheer  us.  When  we  are 
tempted  and  tried,  let  its  promises  strengthen  us,  and  may 
Thy  Sabbaths  be  to  our  spirits  as  times  and  seasons  when 
Thou  didst  walk  with  us,  receiving  us  into  Thy  love,  as  Thy 
children  reconciled  to  Thee.  May  such  a  thought  prove  to  us 
a  never-failing  help,  when  we  recall  it  in  our  times  of  weakness 
and  distress. 

Grant,  O  God,  that  our  hard  hearts  may  have  been  broken 
unto  Christ ;  that  the  pleading  for  His  sake  may  not  have 
passed  over  us  entirely,  like  water  on  a  stone,  but  may  have 
sunk  into  our  being,  and  revived  the  dreams  of  a  better  life, 
and  hopes  of  higher  things,  which  have  been  languishing 
there.  Grip  us  and  hold  us  fast.  Steady  us  in  our  reeling 
world,  O  Father.  Let  Thy  Spirit  guide  us,  through  all  ways, 
unto  the  living  Way. 

May  souls  that  were  seeking  Thee,  this  day  have  found 
Thee ;  and  hearts  that  were  weary  away  from  Thee,  feel 
refreshed  by  the  dew  of  Thy  love. 

Let  not  the  abandoned  and  the  outcast  abide  afar  from  Thy 
presence  ;  but,  in  Thy  mercy,  save  and  heal  them  all.  In 
Thine  own  time,  O  Father,  make  us  all  Thine  own  ;  and  lift 
the  sorrowing  world  to  a  home  of  peace  upon  Thy  bosom. 
Of  Thy  grace  obliterate  the  transgressions  of  us,  poor  men  and 
women  everywhere,  seeking  Thee  in  our  needs,  our  sorrows, 
and  our  sins. 

Close  Thou  the  day  with  Thy  blessing,  and  let  sweet  rest 
be  given  to  us  all  this  night. 

Remember  those  especially  for  whom  the  darkness  shall  be 
full  of  pain,  in  hospitals,  asylums,  and  prisons  ;  and  let  Thine 
angels  be  in  all  places,  comforting,  upholding,  and  restoring. 
For  Jesu's  sake. 


384 


THE  GATES  OF  FRAYER 


5n  Darftticss 

WHEN  the  days  of  darkness  come,  O  Lord,  remember 
us.  Time  bears  us  swiftly  onward  to  the  finish.  O 
let  the  end  of  earthly  things  be  the  beginning  of  the  perfect 
life  in  Thee. 

Make  us  thankful  for  all  Thy  blessings,  known  or  unknown 
to  us,  wherewith  our  lives  have  been  helped,  and  our  hearts 
comforted.  Let  thy  pity  enfold  us  because  we  have  been 
blind,  but  now  we  see  ;  and  led  away  into  pain  through  sin,  but 
now  we  know,  and  long  for  the  true  highway  of  light.  Let 
the  sorrows  of  sight  and  knowledge  be  changed  into  gladness 
and  peace,  through  Thy  love  abiding  with  us. 

Especially  remember  the  poor  and  homeless,  the  suffering 
and  the  dying,  and  let  Thy  love  comfort  earth's  mourners,  and 
all  sad  at  heart  everywhere. 

Remember  us  always,  O  Father  of  Mercies,  and  make  us 
worthier  of  Thy  blessing. 

O  God,  with  Whom  do  dwell  eternally  the  spirits  of  the 
faithful  and  the  true,  consecrate  our  remembrance  of  them,  now 
and  for  evermore.  We  thank  Thee  for  all  the  brave.  We 
thank  Thee  that  their  influence  abides ;  and  that  in  every 
onward  movement  of  the  world,  their  souls  go  marching  along. 
Let  their  names  stand  amongst  us,  a  rebuke  in  degenerate 
days,  an  incentive  to  duty  when  the  times  shall  call  us,  and 
a  memorial  of  what  true  men  have  done.  Bless  those  upon 
whose  hearts  their  names  are  written  deathlessly.  Comfort 
and  strengthen  all  such,  everywhere.  Bless  our  native  land, 
our  King  and  Queen,  all  who  are  over  us — our  soldiers  and 
sailors,  the  children  of  our  empire,  in  all  the  wide  world. 
Keep  war  and  distress  far  from  us  ;  yet  farther  from  us  keep 
all  cowardly  fears,  that  we  may  be  more  worthy  of  the  race  that 
bore  us,  and  of  the  brave  gone  on  before.  Guide  us  for  ever, 
O  Thou  King  of  kings,  until  the  world  and  our  day  be  done, 
and  we  go  home  to  Thee.     For  Jesu's  sake. 


3B  385 


THE  GATES  OF  PKAYEll 

Sacramental 

HEAVENLY  FATHER,  as  we  are  drawing  near  the 
time  of  the  remembrance  of  the  Holy  Supper  of  the 
Lord  Christ,  prepare  our  hearts  for  His  table.  Cleanse  us 
from  all  that  hinders  the  fulfilling  of  His  will  within  us.  Give 
us  true  lowliness  of  life,  deep  earnestness  of  faith,  and,  above 
all,  the  spirit  of  true  brotherhood,  that  in  charity  and  peace  we 
may  gather  in  Thy  house,  ready  and  fitted  to  know  the  Lord. 

We  acknowledge  our  unworthiness  to  come  into  His 
presence,  for  we  have  been  impure,  untrue,  and  unkind ;  we 
have  worshipped  our  own  will,  and  our  own  pride  of  heart, 
and  have  not  been  so  loving,  so  pure,  and  true,  as  those  who 
profess  to  be  His  children  should  have  been.  Have  pity  on 
us,  O  Thou  God  of  grace,  for  Thou  knowest  how  frail  and 
easily  persuaded  we  are  by  nature,  and  how  soon  our  best 
resolves  are  broken  down.  Grant  that  this  season  may  verily 
be  the  door  of  entrance  to  a  higher  life ;  and  as  Thou  callest 
us  to  nobler  effort  after  righteousness,  uphold  us,  we  beseech 
Thee,  when  we  try  to  do  Thy  will. 

Remember  all  who  are  sin-pursued  and  grief-oppressed  at 
this  time.  Be  with  the  selfish,  and  the  wilful,  and  the  sinning; 
and  let  Thy  saving  love,  like  an  angel  of  light,  meet  them 
in  the  way,  turning  them  again  to  Thee.  Be  with  the 
sick  everywhere,  and  especially  those  known  and  dear  to  us. 
Mingle  Thy  pity  and  comfort  with  the  cup  of  their  sorrow  and 
pain,  and  speak  to  the  whole  wide  world  of  Thine  always- 
abiding  peace.  Give  us  also,  O  our  Father,  the  blessedness  we 
ask  for  others — the  earnest  grace  of  seeking  Thee,  the  joy  of 
finding  Thee,  and  the  bliss  of  ever  resting  in  Thy  presence. 

Seal  with  Thy  blessing,  O  Heavenly  Father,  our  services  at 
this  time.  Go  forward  with  Thy  people  who  are  seeking 
contact  with  Christ,  and  grant  that  at  His  table  they  may  find 
Him.  Remember  in  Thy  mercy  the  poor,  the  weak,  the 
sad,  and  the  suffering,  the  lonely,  the  friendless,  the  forsaken, 
and  the  forgotten.  Be  a  shelter  to  the  homeless,  and  a  friend 
to  those  who  have  none  to  help  them.  Guide  the  ship  across 
the  waters,  and  hear  the  prayers  of  those  whose  loved  ones 
are  sailing  on  the  sea.  Remember  all  who  are  far  from 
home.  Bless  all  widows  and  orphans,  and  fill  the  world  with 
Thine  unmasterable  love,  bringing  us  all  in  Thine  own  time 
closer  to  Thee.     For  Jesu's  sake, 

386 


THE  GATES  OF  PKAYER 


Sacramental 

TT'  NOCK  Thou  on  the  door  of  our  hearts,  O  King  of 
Jj^^^  Glory ;  and  grant  that  we  may  open  unto  Thee,  that 
Thou  mayest  enter  in  and  make  the  poor  house  of  our  soul 
sweet  and  beautiful  again.  Come,  Thou  Lord  Jesus,  who  of 
old  hadst  human  comradeships,  and  be  to-day  our  Saviour  and 
our  Friend.  O  Holy  Spirit,  that  didst  move  of  old  on  the  face 
of  the  dark  waters,  be  Thou  in  the  midst  of  our  shadowed 
lives,  and  quicken  us  Godwards.  Speak  to  each  heart  here, 
O  Trinity  of  Love  and  Power,  and  make  our  tangled  dreams 
and  hopes,  our  failures  and  defeats,  our  joys  and  sorrows, 
straight  and  fair  and  lovely  once  again,  that  we  may  approach 
this  table  worthily,  seeking  and  joyfully  finding  communion 
with  the  Saviour  who  died  for  us. 

We  praise  and  bless  Thee  for  Thine  undying  remembrance 
and  Thy  goodness  to  us  ;  for  the  love  of  comrade  and  of 
friend ;  for  the  love  of  husband  and  wife  and  child ;  for  the 
light  that  is  on  the  water  and  the  land ;  for  the  shadow  that 
folds  us  about  in  quiet  sleep ;  for  the  joy  that  fills  our  hearts 
with  music,  and  the  sorrow  that  brings  Thee  near  us  and 
turns  our  souls  to  Thee ;  for  the  hope  and  strength  and  the 
consolation  of  this  world,  and  the  earnest  expectation  of  the 
world  beyond  the  shadows ;  for  human  help  that  we  have 
known,  human  sympathy,  human  charity;  and  for  the  con- 
tinued remembrance  of  what  His  life,  His  love,  and  His  death 
upon  the  Cross  mean  for  the  ages  of  humanity. 

Bless  Thou  unto  us  these  holy  symbols  of  our  Saviour's 
sacrifice,  and  grant  that  to  our  souls,  through  faith,  this  bread 
broken,  and  this  wine  poured  forth  may  become  fit  symbols  of 
the  body  and  the  blood  of  Him  who  died  for  us  on  Calvary, 
to  our  spiritual  nourishment  and  growth  in  grace.  For  His 
name's  sake. 


387 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


DATE  DUE 

j_,,„„„r- 

GAYLORD 

PSINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

